Fire & Water
by thesuperMrE1
Summary: Ben, a newly realized demigod, goes on a quest to save the gods...and his girlfriend. Review if you want, I don't care if you don't. I don't own any part of the works of Rick Riordan.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Lucky breaks**

Ben had been running for two months. He had been chased out of his small hometown by some demon snake women who were trying to claw at him. Then, oh let's see

in Grand Rapids, he made the mistake of trying to stock up on supplies at a mall where he ran into some cheerleaders, who later tried to bite his neck.

Toledo was a disaster, with overgrown pigeons flinging their feathers at him, which stuck in the bench he had ducked behind.

In Colombia…..well, you get the idea. Ben had always managed to get away, either by blocking off the monsters, or burning them to a crisp, which he still had no idea how he could do. Following the water had always been safer for him, giving him some renewed strength before he continued on.

This cycle continued on until he could see the Empire State Building on the horizon. Yeah, two months to walk from little old Lake Ann, Michigan, to perhaps the most famous city in the world; he should have felt proud. Instead, exhaustion and anxiety filled him. He knew, somewhere in this city, his luck would run out. But he had no choice. He started walking straight for the enormous building.

It took him about five hours to get to the doors. Surely, in the middle of New York, he shouldn't be attacked by anything. He was _completely _wrong. Across the street was perhaps the largest, scariest looking dog he had ever seen. It was pure black, with sharp, pointy teeth, and strong looking muscles. This thing could probably smack him twenty blocks out of his socks. Thankfully it was on a leash, but the owner wasn't any kinder looking. He had a bloodshot _eye_-yeah. A single eye, in the center of his face. His teeth were sticking out of his mouth in odd angles and looked just as muscular as his dog. He bore his eye straight at him, and Ben knew he was dead. The thing gave him a crooked smile and let go of the leash. His dog started dashing across the street, leaping over the traffic and lunged straight at Ben. He dove to the side, rolled, and ran for his life-for the umpteenth time. He heard the beast crash through the doors and some panicked screams. The one eyed guy crossed the street and whistled for his mutt. Ben turned down an alley and rushed into an open taxi.

"Where to, kid?" the driver asked, as if he picked up random kids off the sidewalk everyday.

"Sound beach." That was the very first thing to pop into his mind. The driver looked over Ben with a new interest and said, "Ride's on me."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Bullfighting**

The cab driver drove Ben as far as Terryville before asking him to leave. He obliged, and the driver sped hurriedly back to the city. Ben then asked the locals for any kind of direction to Long Island Sound. One older gentleman told him it was about a 5 mile hike northeast. After stocking up on supplies at the general store, he set off, following the same gut feeling that he'd had since home.

It was about mid afternoon when the final monster attacked. Ben had just been walking alongside the Farm Road for a half hour, when he felt he was close to where he needed to be. The air was warm with a slight breeze, the sun breaking through the trees, the smell of a relaxing spring day. He forgot about the possibility of monster attacks. _Big_ mistake. As he began drifting into a peaceful daydream, he felt a large force smack him clear across the road and into a tree. The surprise attack had left him in a new found daze. When his senses came back, he saw the monster-a huge bull-charging straight at him. He rolled to the side, but just too late. One of its horns snagged his shirt and stuck him to the tree. Good side: he was out of reach of the bulls...wait, arms?! Ben had thought this was some steroid induced bull, but no. This thing had human like arms. That's when it clicked: this is _the_ Minotaur.

Ben cursed. He had been afraid before, but now he was completely terrified. This was the most famous monster of all time and it was here to kill Ben. _No, _Ben thought. _I won't let this overgrown cow kill me._ Ben slipped out of his shirt and off his pack, then tried to summon fire to blast in the Minotaur's face. It worked and blinded it long enough for Ben to crawl under one of its horns and run. He heard roaring and ran faster. Luckily, he was a fast runner. Cross country in eighth grade and three gym classes as a freshman brought him a mile time of 7 minutes 10 seconds.

He ran until he saw a sign the said _Pick Your Own Strawberries. _He figured that a strawberry farm would be as good of a place as any to hide. He started running the direction the arrow was pointing when he heard rumbling. He looked back and said some choice words that would have resulted in his parents making him eat soap. The Minotaur had managed to break free and was charging on its hind hooves, arms spread-almost as if he wanted a hug. Ben knew dodging wasn't going to save him, so once again, fire would have to save him. He summoned a fireball and threw it at the Minotaur, who ducked his head down and Ben only managed to singe some back hair. He threw another fireball just as the charging monster looked up.

Bull's eye! The Minotaur reared up in pain and stopped just short of him. Fire wasn't helping him greatly, so Ben tapped into whatever energy he had left and summoned any water he could manage. The ground began to rumble and Ben heard what he could only describe as waves crashing against a cliffside behind him. The Minotaur roared again, but it was cut short. The water slammed into the bull and the churning currents within pulled the beast apart, reducing it to golden powder mixing with water. Ben let go of his control and water splashed down all around him.

He was drained. The water seeped back through the ground before he could heal himself. He turned around and trudged his way up the hill without any thought, nearly running into a huge tree. He saw what looked like some kind of camp with kids milling around and heading to the structures. He had trouble focusing on anything, and he felt as if he was going to collapse. Then he saw a hazy blur of a person make its way up towards him. "Are you ok?" It was a girl's voice and he could only recognize blonde curls before he collapsed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Nurse's Office**

When he came to, it was dark and he could hear singing in the distance. He looked around at his surroundings: multiple beds that looked suspiciously like hospital gurneys, a tall looking blond guy with blue eyes...all over his body. The sight churned Ben's stomach. He looked at his bed sight and saw a glass of apple juice. He reached over to pick it up when he heard the same voice from the hill, "I wouldn't just yet if I were you."  
He looked over and saw the very same golden curls from earlier, with a tanned athletic figure, and wearing an orange t-shirt with a pegasus and the words _Camp Half-Blood_ on the front_, _and shorts. But her main feature were her eyes. They were an intense-intimidating, if you will-shade of grey.

Sitting next to her was a guy about her age, with messy dark hair, sea green eyes, and wore a very similar outfit to the girl, except he wore jeans. They were holding hands, obviously there was something between the two of them. They both looked at him with sympathetic looks, the girl with a vibe that said that she had been caring for someone in a similar situation, possibly involving the guy. Speaking of which, his look read _Don't worry. You're not the only one._

"W-Where am I?" Ben strained to sit himself up. He heard laughter from off in the distance.

"Camp Half-Blood," the guy answered. "Annabeth found you walking up Half-Blood Hill when you collapsed."

"Percy said you collapsed because I was too beautiful for you," Annabeth mentioned, with a playful smile spreading on her face. _Percy and Annabeth._ Ben would have to remember that.

"Well," Ben started, managing a smile, "That might've been the case if I wasn't totally spent."

"Yeah, what happened?" Annabeth asked. "You were like a zombie right up until you collapsed."

"Can I have a drink first? It's gonna be quite the story." Ben reached for the glass of apple juice before Annabeth stopped him. She took hold of the drink and put it to Ben's lips. He took a small drink. It was _not_ apple juice. It tasted like grilled cheese and tomato soup, Ben's favourite. Well, one of them. He took a couple of sips before Annabeth pulled away the glass.

"That's enough," She said, setting the glass back down. "Too much of that will...well, let's not go into those details. Anyways, your story, if you don't mind."

Ben told them about the monster attack in Lake Ann, which he had to point out where it was (Great thing about being a Michigander: your right hand is an easy access map). He told them about his trip south and east, about all the monsters he encountered, and in particular, the Minotaur fight. He noticed Percy get wide eyed at the mention of the monster, like he had a terrible past involving it. When he finished his story, Percy had a dark and moody look on his face. Annabeth put her arm around him, as if to bring him back to the present.

"So that brings us to now. And I take it by the look on your face, you also had an unpleasant run in with the-"

"Yeah!" Percy blurted, cutting Ben off. "I was in a worse situation though, and quite younger than you are. You're what, sixteen?"

"As of a few months ago, yeah. Problem?"

"Yeah," Percy and Annabeth said simultaneously. Annabeth let go of Percy. Ben knew exactly what was going to happen: story time.

"You see, about a year ago, there was a huge war which, long story short, ended with the Titans' second defeat. Percy was given the chance to have any wish granted. He wanted the gods, and made them swear on the Styx, to recognize all their children, and also those of the minor gods. He wanted them here by the time they were thirteen. That's the problem there."

"So basically, because I didn't show up last year, that's a problem?"

"Yep," Percy affirmed. "That sums it up nicely."

"Fun," Ben said monotonically. "Well now that that's off my shoulders, and I feel better about bullfighting, I'd like to see the camp."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Complications**

Percy and Annabeth promised to show more of camp tomorrow, but from what he could see, this place wasn't half bad. He saw volleyball courts and an arts and crafts center, and decided that this summer camp wasn't very different from Camp Greilick. That instantly depressed him. Camp Greilick was an amazing place right near Traverse City, his second hometown. Although Lake Ann and Traverse City were in two different counties, they were close enough to each other that they were interchangeable for him. He missed home. He missed everything he'd left behind: his friends, family, and Alicia. Ben wished she were here right now. He felt like a third wheel, since Percy and Annabeth were holding hands and talking about their moments at these places. Ben figured they had one of those _I'll go six feet under if you get a splinter_ kind of relationships, based on the way they were talking to each other, and the stories they were telling. They cared for each other and seemed to work as one person.

They passed a giant white statue of a woman in the dead middle of camp, and Ben woke up from his thoughts about home. He could feel power radiating off her, but a peaceful kind of power. It was like she protected her camp under her vigilant gaze. Ben looked at Annabeth to ask who she was, and stopped. He looked back and forth from Annabeth to the statue, very quickly. Annabeth laughed cheerfully at his tied tongue and gave the two minute explanation that this was the Athena Parthenos, a powerful figure of her mother. They had rescued it in a giant quest, which had led to the defeat of some giants that Ben had never heard of, also defeated Gaea (Wasn't that a translation for earth? Ben glanced at his feet nervously.), closed the Doors of Death (Wait, what?!), and brought peace to the Romans and the Greeks. Ben had serious trouble understanding this, and his head hurt. How much could happen in one summer? And didn't the Roman Empire end in the 1400's? Then again, what was he doing in a Greek camp for half-gods? _Gosh my head hurts._ He was not yet in the habit of saying "gods" instead of "gosh" like he heard Annabeth and Percy do.

When they got to the amphitheatre, Ben felt like an action figure. It was like the fire bowl from Greilick, with the seats built into the hill and a fire at the bottom, but the whole thing was huge. There were, at the very least, a few hundred campers. There was also a stage opposite of the seats, much more glorious than the simple flat spot on the opposite hill at Greilick. The fire was roaring, but there wasn't any wood. The campers were in a sing along and the flame grew.

When the song ended, a bunch of campers walked off stage as a middle aged guy came on. Well, middle aged guy from the waist up. Where his legs should have been, was instead the body of a white stallion. As he walked on stage, he looked over in our direction. Ben looked up at Percy and Annabeth, who were smiling at the man.

"I see our new camper is up and well," He announced. That made every other camper look at Ben. Embarrassment and nervousness flashed over him, though he shook it off pretty well. "Come on up and introduce yourself." Annabeth nudged Ben on, and he got up on stage.

"Alrighty. My name is Ben Dierking."

"And where are you from?"

"Lake Ann, Michigan." The moment he said that, the other campers started whispering to each other. Ben looked down and noticed his hands were smoking. He looked at the horse-man, who was looking at him as if he were a jigsaw puzzle, analyzing him.

"So what are you capable of, lad?" He sounded as if he already knew. Ben had no choice. He summoned fire, the flames curling around his fingers and across his palms. The whispers increased and one kid shouted "I'm not alone!" That was met with a girl's voice saying "Calm down, Leo." The Leo kid went back to being part of the crowd. That's when Annabeth came up, with Percy at her side.

"What about the water?" she asked. "You said you ripped apart you-know-who by summoning water."

"Uh, are you sure you want me to?" Annabeth's response: nodding her head. Ben then put out the flames on his hands and concentrated. He listened to the ocean, the river, and lake that were around him. With a pulling feeling in his gut, he felt water rushing towards him and everyone else. The whispers died as a tidal wave loomed above. Ben took a moment to look at everyone's faces. All in awe. Ben was feeling pretty good about himself. That was when he lost his focus. Hundreds of gallons of water splashed down, soaking everyone. Everyone except himself and Percy.

"Why aren't you wet, Percy?"

"Son of Poseidon, god of the Sea. I can't get wet unless I will myself to be." He glanced upward and his jaw dropped. "Speaking of Dad…" He pointed just above Ben's head and Ben looked up. A shimmering trident was floating there, in a sea green color. Everyone finally recovered from the giant wave he'd summoned and there was a collective gasp. The old centaur stepped back and knelt down, and everyone else followed suit.

"Hail to Ben Dierking. The Son of Poseidon, God of the Sea."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Dreams, Food, and Weapons**

The centaur suggested everyone head off to bed. Ben followed Percy and Annabeth over to the cabins, none of which were the same. He saw one was bright silver like the moon, another blood red, a third like a little factory. They stopped in front of a low, long cabin with sea coral and seashells in the stone. Percy and Annabeth said goodnight to each other and shared a quick kiss before she headed off.

Percy opened the cabin door. "Welcome to Cabin Three. Make yourself at home." Inside, it reminded Ben of the staff quarters at Greilick. It was spacious with six bunk beds scattered about. The walls were made of abalone, and there was a sea breeze whistling about.

"You can take any bunk in here," Percy offered. "Except the one above me. That's for Tyson."

"Who's Tyson?" Ben was really interested in this camp's feeling towards Poseidon's kids, considering they all gasped when he was claimed.

"Tyson is _our_ half brother. He's a cyclops. You'll love him." Ben was slightly miffed about cyclopses-or was it cyclopi?-since the Empire State Building incident. But with how Percy was talking about him, Tyson sounded like a cool guy.

"Well, I guess I'll take this one for now," he said jumping into the nearest bunk. "Hey, question. Do you have any idea why I can summon fire when I'm a son of the sea god? It seems like a contradiction."

Percy shrugged, climbing into his bunk. "Your guess is as good as mine. The only other fire user here is Leo, and he's a son of Hephaestus." Ben thought about it for a moment, then said goodnight and drifted off to bed in a comfy bed for the first time in two months.

He started dreaming about Alicia, much more sharply and clearly than usual. She was going through some pictures on her iPod, pictures of the two of them together. It hurt Ben, seeing Alicia so sad. He tried to speak but his voice wasn't working.

"Ben. Where did you go? I miss you." She started to cry. Ben desperately wanted to comfort her but was stuck in place. The dream shifted. He found himself in a cave lit by a fire. From what he could see, there was an altar holding a stone image, portraying various symbols. Out of nowhere, a huge shadow appeared.

"So this is the great Image of the Gods," the shadow said. His voice was gruff. "It's not much, but it should be enough to make me a greatly known legend. One by one, the gods shall be crippled, until they will be too weak to stop me." The voice let loose a boasting laugh and it took Ben out of the dream.

He woke up and forgot for a moment where he was. He felt a breeze roll over him. _Smells like the sea, _he thought. _Cabin Three._ He got up and saw he was still wearing his jeans, ripped and caked with mud. His boots were still in good enough shape, just lots of caked on mud. He thought he'd went to the campfire shirtless, but instead he was wearing a orange shirt like the one Percy was wearing. Speaking of which, Percy was coming over to Ben with a change of clothes.

"Courtesy of the Stoll brothers of Hermes cabin." He handed Ben the change of clothes-another orange shirt, new jeans, boxers and socks.

"Isn't Hermes the God of Thieves? And they're the _Stoll_ brothers?" Ben challenged, cracking a smile.

"I told them about that. They didn't get it."

"Pity."

They shared a laugh and Ben took the clothes. Percy went outside, probably to meet with Annabeth, and Ben went ahead and changed. He felt a lot better in some fresh clothes. He walked outside and heard a conch horn blowing in the distance. At that moment, his stomach growled. He saw campers spill out of the twenty some cabins he could see and head to a very large stone pavilion. He followed the crowd there and saw Percy sitting at a table to himself. Ben sat across him.

"Breakfast time I take it?"

"Hmm? Yeah." Percy responded as if he had just been taken out of a trance. "Smart thinking, sitting here by the way. We're supposed to sit by cabin, just so you know."

"Well, aside from Annabeth who's sitting over yonder at a nearly full table, you're the only person I know. So what's for breakfast?"

"Anything you want," Percy picked up his plate. "The plates and goblets are enchanted. Imagine what you want, and it appears."

Ben imagined pancakes and syrup. They appeared right on his plate. He tried a bite and felt back at home. It was made exactly the way his dad-er, step-dad he supposed-made them, and there was the same maple syrup his family used.

"Sweet. Aunty Em's syrup."

"Aunty Em? Uh, I'm not totally fond of that name." Percy said, with nervousness in his voice.

"What do you have against Aunty Em's syrup? It's great."

"Aunty Em reminds me of Medusa's lair in New Jersey, where her alias was Aunty Em."

"Dude. It's syrup, not a potion for turning people to stone." They laughed at the comment and dropped the matter.

The campers enjoyed their breakfast until the centaur-Percy informed Ben the old man's name was Chiron-stomped his hoof on the marble floor.

"I hope everyone slept well last night after the little show." Ben was pretty sure Chiron used the words _little show_ as a substitute for _Ben's powers._ "As a reminder, Capture the Flag is tonight. Cabin One currently has laurel crowns." A blonde guy, about Percy's age, gave everyone a two finger salute. "I trust the teams have been, hrm, _rearranged_ for this week." There was a collective nervous laughter across the pavillion. Chiron cleared his throat. "You are dismissed to your activities. But can Cabin Three and the head councilor of Cabin Six come see me?" Everyone started to file out except for Ben, Percy, and Annabeth. The three went in the opposite direction-towards Chiron.

"So, Ben, do you know who I am?" the centaur asked.

"Chiron. Percy told me just before your...announcement." Even though this wasn't a Boy Scout camp, Ben still felt iffy with saying 'announcement.' Especially with the Announcement Song milling around camps.

"Yes. Now, a few things about camp, new campers usually see the orientation film before engaging in camp activities. However, you defeated the Minotaur with no formal training. That is no small feat."

"Wasn't small enough if Percy did it too."

"Point taken. Anyways," he turned to Percy and Annabeth, "I want you two to shadow Ben. Get him a weapon and show him the ropes of camp." The couple nodded and Chiron turned back to Ben. "If you have any further questions, ask these two." Ben nodded and Chiron trotted off.

Percy and Annabeth took Ben to a blue and gold cabin with an owl carved over the door and a shed to the side. Annabeth opened up the shed and inside were weapons cluttered along the walls. There was a wide assortment of swords, spears, and for some reason, shotguns. Annabeth helped Ben though various weapons, none with any good feel. The generic sword was too long, the spear was just awkward, and no thank you shoty. Thats when Ben saw a sheathed sword hanging on a hook.

"Oh those are dual dao swords," Annabeth explained. "They appear as a single blade but can be split apart and used separately." Ben unsheathed the weapon, a brilliant shining bronze color, set down the sheath, and disconnected the two halves.

"It's a perfect fit," Ben muttered. He walked outside the armory and instinctively began wielding them, slicing the air as if the swords were a part of him. He put the halves back together and resheathed them. He tied the sheath to his back, another perfect fit.

"They suit you well," Percy commented. "And the way you were wielding them says you've had experience with them before."

Ben shook his head. "No. I've never wielded any real sword before. I had a hard foam sword back home, but that's it." He looked to them, expecting an answer, but got nothing. "Well, let's party."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Game Time**

Annabeth left the boys for her cabinmates, leaving Ben and Percy to train at the arena. No one else was there, and the two practiced as the hours went by. Ben was greatly excelling at using the twin dao blades, and his one-handedness wasn't bad either. By the time the conch horn for dinner sounded, both guys had been disarmed more times than countable. Dinner was an amazing pig roast, with the head being burned for the gods. Afterwards, the teams for Capture the Flag were assembled. On his team were him and Percy, Annabeth and her siblings, a bunch of guys with bows, some campers who appeared weaponless, though Ben was sure they had come out of the cabin with odd lettering inscribed in the stone, and another twenty some campers.

On the other team was the blond guy from breakfast, a bunch of girls in pink armor, a handful of kids with grease stains on their clothes, and some thirty other campers. About a dozen of the campers looked ready for blood, hopefully not Ben's. That hope was lost when one girl, buffer than most of his own team, growled at him.

"That's Clarisse," Percy told Ben. "She a daughter of Ares, the war god. Since you're new and she hasn't seen you somewhat vulnerable till now, she's kinda miffed. She likes to run new campers through an _initiation_. Just try and stay away from her tonight."

"Gotcha. Is it too late to get armor?" Ben had opted to not put on some armor when he, Percy, and Annabeth agreed to make a three person mini team. He'd figure he'd be safe enough with those two with him.

"Sorry man but-"

"Hey kid, take this." Ben looked over and a curly haired guy with tanned skin stood next to him. He was a little shorter than Ben. In his hand was a necklace with the yin and yang symbol on it. Ben grabbed it and studied it.

"Um, thanks? I don't know-"

"Put it on and tap it. Trust me." The guy seemed to have a major impulse going throughout his body. It was a nervous kind of energy that Ben had when he was really hungry. Ben looked over to Percy. He nodded.

Ben slipped on the necklace and tapped the symbol. It expanded all over his body, wrapping him in a thin layer of metal. Ben tried moving around and found the metal was really light. He hit it in a multitude of places, even the groin area. None of that affected him.

"Wow! This is pretty freaking sweet. Thanks." He extended his hand in thanks.

"No problem. Name's Leo, son of Hephaestus," Leo said coolly. "I was the guy Beauty Queen told to shut up last night." Something hit him in the back of the head. Both Leo and Ben looked over at a girl who had choppy brown hair and hazel eyes. Ben thought "Beauty Queen" was an actual descriptor of the girl rather than a nickname. Except, she seemed pretty miffed. "Fine, Fine. You made your point, Piper." Leo rubbed where the projectile hit him. "I'll catch you guys after the game." He walked back to his team.

"Is it just me, or am I just a magnet to people who act nothing like you'd expect?"

"You get used to that after a while," Percy said, like he wasn't done meeting the crazy kind of people he could get along with. Ben shook head and turned to Chiron as he called for everyone's attention.

"You all know the rules: the forest is fair game, the river is the boundary, and no maiming. Red team gets the east, Blue to the west. Good luck." The two team went in opposite directions to start the game. Percy and Annabeth had a great co-captain thing going. They found a great place to set the flag, easy to see, hard to get. Our defense was looking solid, a lot of the bow kids climbing in trees as look outs and snipers, and a good chunk of our team creating a perimeter around the flag. The remaining campers on our team made two offensive teams, one for a head on attack, and one swinging in on the right. That left Ben, Percy, and Annabeth to take the left.

They walked around the leftern side of the woods. Ben's armor was an interesting shade of grey that blended nicely with the flora-a bit too nicely. He was found at the end of the couple's blades quite a few times. Then he heard something.

"Stop," He hissed. He drew his dao blades, one in each hand. Two burly kids came out from out of the trees.

"Go!" Percy shouted. He and Annabeth took them on while Ben ran in the direction they had been going. He found himself crossing the river and didn't stop until he was sure he wasn't being followed. He took his time to catch his breath before continuing on. He walked for a little bit before he found the flag. He looked around for any defenders. _No one, _he thought. _Booby traps then._ Then he considered that Leo kid may have made the traps. He looked around and found a low hanging branch above the flag. He sheathed his swords and climbed up a nearby tree and started to climb across the branches. Once he was over the flag, he climbed down to the lowest branch. He reached for the flag, it just being out of his reach. He cursed, wrapped his legs around the branch, and drew his sword, one in each hand, for extra reach. He managed to cut the flag free of the post it was on. Problem: it fell to the ground. He was debating on how to get down when he heard some cracking. He panicked and tossed his swords away from him as the branch snapped. His shoulder clipped the flag post and he started rolling into the surrounding area. When he finally stopped, the ground started to rumble beneath him. He dove forward as a jail cell popped out of the ground. He rolled as a second one emerged and he got up and ran, scooping up the flag and his swords he ran


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: A Duel and Smoke**

Ben ran until he could see the river. He stopped to catch his breath and looked back. No doubt the underground cages also had some alarm for Leo or whomever to hear and rush over. He sheathed his weapons and sat down. He wondered who would be the first to find him. He figured he was quite a ways out of the way. But he felt on edge. Once he caught his breath, he stood up and heard a low rumble of thunder. He looked for the source, finding the blonde haired guy holding a golden sword, and he wasn't that far from Ben.

"There you are!" Behind him, a buff, tall girl with light brown hair and brown eyes full of amusement. Must have been Clarisse. "I've been wondering where you were. You never got the usual initiation. No matter. You can meet my spear, Maimer." Electricity sparked at the spear point.

"Now Clarisse, go easy on him," the blonde guy said. Ben did a double take. Blondy was actually on Ben's side? Clarisse must have been the camp bully if they were on the same team and he was staying out of it.

"Either help me, Jason, or get out of here." Jason tightened his grip on his sword. _Crap. _Ben was getting double teamed here. He drew his dao blades and held one in each hand. He heard Clarisse growl and she charged, spear leveled. Ben jumped out of the way and smacked her in the head with the hilt of his sword as she barreled by. She grunted and collapsed, skidding a couple feet. She was breathing, thankfully, but not getting up. He looked up at Jason, who was shocked.

"That was...fast," he said, in a state of awe. "Guess it's my turn." He raised his sword and thunder rumbled and a bolt of lightning shot down. Jason pointed the bolt at Ben and it shot across. Ben crossed his swords, but they were knocked out of his hands. Jason called for another lightning strike and shot it at Ben. Time slowed down. Ben wanted to run, but his body was faster than his mind. He felt his arm point at the lightning bolt, the electricity shooting up his arm. He pointed with his other arm, and he felt the electric current go down into his gut, up and out the other arm-right at Jason. He was caught off guard and was blasted with lightning. Jason was knocked back, and slumped against a tree. Ben started to approach Jason before he noticed the guy was still breathing. He turned around and started for the river. He was in shock. How did he manage to do that?

He picked up the flag he had dropped, probably when Clarisse appeared. He walked across the river and kept going. It wasn't long until he was spotted by someone on his team.

"Ben has the flag!" His team mates showed up from all around him and so did the other team. Everyone started asking him a wave of questions like "How did you do it?" "What about the traps?" "Who did you have to fight for it?" It wasn't long before Chiron appeared with a redheaded girl on his back.

"Well, first you defeat the Minotaur, then you win your first Capture the Flag game single handedly. Never have I seen a more powerful demigod. Well, Heracles maybe, but regardless. Incredible."

"No, he has Hercules beat." Everyone turned to see Jason and Clarisse show up. "He knocked out Clarisse in a matter of seconds, then redirected one of my own lightning bolts back at me." A new wave of questions came from the crowd, none of them audible.

"Silence!" Chiron shouted. It was dead silent in half a second. "Ben, would you mind demonstrating for us? Jason, you too?" The boys in question exchanged looks. Neither seemed to want to, until Ben finally said something.

"Fine. Jason?" Jason nodded and the two got out of the group. Jason called down lightning strike and shot it at Ben. He redirected it the same way he did at the river. Except this time he aimed for the sky and it shot back into the clouds. Everyone began wondering why he could do that. Most of the younger campers wanted to do it too.

During the excitement, the redhaired girl on Chirons back began to emit an eerie green smoke. In a raspy voice she spoke:

_Powerful fire user, newly found,_

_Seeks his loved one, far from the ground._

_In captor's hands, Lover gains sight,_

_and User from ground is overcome by fright._

_With war, sky, and beauty, User has aid,_

_Faced with a choice, Fate's destiny is made._

The smoke dissipated and she slumped on Chiron. No one spoke for a count of ten when Leo said, "Fire user, huh? That sounds pretty obvious. Especially since I'm still working on how to get to Ca-I mean, it has to be Ben. 'Newly found' has to be like the new kid." Ben looked at Leo in a bit of disbelief.

"What were you about to say Leo?"

"Nothing."

Before Ben could say something, Percy from somewhere within the crowd shouted, "Leo, you meet Calypso?! When?!"

Before Percy could get an answer, Chiron cleared his throat.

"Enough. We shall discuss the prophecy in the morning. Congratulations to Ben for his victory. Now, everyone. Off to bed."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: It's Personal**

That night, Ben's dream was on a demeanor of a personal level. Again, he saw the dark shadow in the cave. He was kneeling at the altar, reading the inscription.

"'For he who seeks weakness of the immortals, Human blood must be spilled. A mortal with unveiled eyes, in love with powerful demigod who she truly knows and will come to her aid.' Fine." He stood and walked to a bowl with a golden liquid in it. "Show me the mortal of the inscription." The liquid rippled and produced a familiar image to Ben: Alicia reading a book in bed. Ben wanted to protest. _Anyone but her. I don't want her hurt at all. _The creature grinned slyly. "Perfect. Now show me her loved demigod." The golden liquid rippled and showed an image of Ben sleeping in his bunk at camp. "Now for a little nudge." He snapped his fingers and something appeared under the bunk. The creature laughed maniacally, the sound booming in the cave.

Ben suddenly found himself on a sandy white beach, with a two story beach house in the distance. He saw a young boy, no older than three, rushing over to an eagle attacking-wait. Where his eyes playing tricks on him? The attacked animal looked like a crab, with the pincers and the beady eyes, but it had a turtle shell and hind turtle legs. The little kid pushed away the eagle and protected the crab-turtle hybrid. The kid looked at the eagle, a hungry look in its eyes. The boy looked sad, as if he couldn't pick a side. The tide must have been high, because with the boy distracted, a wave swept him off his feet and carried him away.

Ben's eyes shot open. He looked under his bed and found the very same mood necklace he gave Alicia at their first dance together. He picked it up and got teary eyed. His beloved was in danger. He got up and headed for the Big House. Maybe Chiron could give him some insight. The sun was just rising as he walked up to the door and knocked. The door opened and he saw Chiron in a wheelchair.

"Good morning Ben. What brings you here at this hour?"

"It's about the prophecy spoken last night. I...I need to go." He told Chiron about his dreams regarding the shadowy figure in the cave. He talked about the stone tablet on the altar. He mentioned the creature had plans of kidnapping his girlfriend, showing Chiron the necklace.

"Hrmm. Well I don't know who this threat is, or what the tablet is, but give me some time and I'll tell you at breakfast. Meanwhile, think about who to take on the quest. I personally don't like this one, calling for four heroes, but I've been proven wrong occasionally." Chiron hesitated, like he was unsure of if he should withhold information to Ben or not, but then he apparently made up his mind and nodded towards the door. Ben knew it was time for him to go.

"Thank you Chiron. Oh, before you go, where's your horse half?"

"Oh, I don't like to be standing when I read." He smiled, as if sharing a joke, then shut the door. Ben decided to go to the arena.

He had sliced down his fifteenth straw dummy by the time he heard the conch horn. He was furious. He was pretty sure he'd have to go on a quest with people he hardly knew, without much formal training, and he had the feeling Clarisse hated his guts even more than before. But most of all, he was angry at whatever was in that cave. _Why? Why Alicia? It isn't fair!_

"You're right," a voice behind him spoke. "But nothing is ever fair, it's all about balance." He turned and saw a woman in long, dark robes, holding a torch in each hand. She had dark, shoulder length hair and a green shimmer surrounding her, like an aura.

"Who are you?" Anger filled his voice. If this woman was of any power, well… he hoped Leo could take his place.

The woman smiled at Ben, as if his anger was amusing. "I am the goddess of the Mist, the thin veil between two realities. I am the lady of magic. I am Hecate. And if you are to succeed, you must know a few things."

Ben's expression softened. "Anything to save Alicia."

"Amusing. Anyways, you must know about the Tablet of the Gods. It holds the symbols of all of us gods, from Zeus' lightning bolt to Nemesis' broken wheel. It is an extremely powerful relic, which if activated, could weaken the power of all the gods. Thankfully, the Fates have decreed it should only be activated by the spilling of the blood of a certain mortal."

"Yeah, MY girlfriend!" Ben was starting to get fed up with this goddess. He just wanted to find her, kill her captor, and keep her safe.

"Yes, however, she can't be sacrificed unless she knows of who her boyfriend truly is. The monster in the cavern is going to use her as bait, giving her clear sight so she may see your power. He then plans to sacrifice her right then and use the tablet against us."

Ben's grip tightened around his blades. "I don't have a choice. I promised her I would keep her safe, and I intend on keeping that promise." He sheathed his weapon and started for the exit.

"We will meet again, son of fire and water. Just you see."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Problems with War**

"You okay man?" Percy asked, concern hanging in his voice. "You weren't in the cabin when I woke up, and you haven't eaten anything." Not one piece of food had appeared on Ben's plate since breakfast started.

"Just… not that hungry." Ben tried to keep his voice level. No point in making an episode in front of everyone. "The prophecy from last night just got too personal for me." He told Percy about the shadow in the cave, and its plans of using Ben's girlfriend as a sacrifice.

"I get where you're coming from. I went on a quest to save Annabeth a few years back, then she and I dragged each other through Tartarus. Don't worry, you'll save her."

"I hope you're right." The two half-brothers sat in silence for a solid minute. "So, who should I take on this quest? It said something about war, sky, and beauty."

"Well," Percy started, "Clarisse is strong and dependable, granted she can be a bit brash. Jason is the only son of Zeus here at camp. And for beauty, Piper. She's pretty strong, and her Katoptris might give you some insight on that thing." Ben thought for a moment, then nodded his head.

"Alrighty, I'll talk to them after breakfast." Ben still didn't eat anything, but that didn't bother him. As the campers shuffled out of the pavillion, he caught up with Jason and Piper, who were holding hands. "Hey. You guys have a minute?"

"Yeah," Piper answered. Her eyes had changed color from last night, a soothing shade of green that distracted Ben for a moment.

He cleared his throat before continuing. "So it's about the prophecy last night and-"

Jason cut him off, calmly saying, "Yeah, we'll help you." Ben was taken by surprise. "You don't have much of a choice with sky, and Piper's the hardest hitting beauty here." She playfully nudged Jason.

"Awesome. That was easier than I thought it was going to be." He nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I'll come back to you guys in a bit. Meet me at the arena in a half hour."

"No problem," Piper answered. The three walked off.

"No! Absolutely not!" Clarisse screamed at Ben. He had found Ares cabin at javelin throwing and had only gotten a word out before Clarisse started yelling.

"You don't even-"

"Yeah I do! You want me to go on that quest with you. Sorry, I don't help punks like you." She threw her javelin and it stuck in the training dummy's head. Ben gulped. "Now if you don't wanna get shish-kebobbed, I suggest you scram." He backed off when he was stopped by one of her brothers. He was buff, like his sister, but taller with dark hair and darker eyes. He had a scar across his forehead and huge sword strapped to his back. It seemed too big to use with just one hand.

"Listen," he whispered, "The rest of us are with you. Clarisse needs to be shoved around every once in a while."

"I appreciate that. Though it doesn't solve my problem."

"Yes it does," said the son of Ares, looking proud of himself, "cause I'm going with you. Name's Jacob." He extended a hand.

"Thank man." Ben shook Jacob's hand. "Come on. Jason and Piper are waiting at the arena." The two of them headed for the arena.

When they arrived, Jason and Piper were crossing swords with Chiron spectating. Chiron noticed the boys and waved them over. He told the couple to stop for the time being.

"So, we have our heroes for the quest. Jacob, I'm surprised to see you here."

"Clarisse had a bit of a hissy fit," Jacob explained.

"Ah. Well, glad to see you stepping up. Now, Ben would you explain what you've seen in your dreams?" Ben explained the creature in the cave and the Tablet of the Gods. He told them the monster was using his girlfriend as bait and showed them her mood necklace as proof.

"May I see that?" Piper asked. Ben handed it to her and she muttered a chant. The charm on the necklace glowed and changed color. She gave back the necklace. "There. I connected it to her emotions so you can see how she's feeling, even if she isn't wearing it." The charm was a dark shade of orange. "So for example, that color means she's afraid. The darker the shade, the more intense the feeling."

Ben's stomach sank. He was ready to march right up to the monster and kick it in the sweet spot. "Thanks. Now the million dollar question is: where is he?" Piper unsheathed a dagger on her belt. It was shining in the sunlight and seemed to be made out of a mirror, reflecting her face perfectly. She studied it but Ben couldn't see any change. Her determined face melted and she put away her knife.

"Well, I couldn't get an exact location, but he's somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. The Wyoming area."

Jacob spoke up. "So we have to check every inch of the Wyoming Rockies?"

Jason shook his head. "No the prophecy said 'far from the ground.' He's probably near the peaks. Which one, I don't know, but we'll have to be quick."

"Okay," Ben said. "Take ten minutes to get ready, then we'll meet at the Big House and leave."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Evil Train**

Packing was easy for Ben. He got a free drawstring bag from the camp store, a baggie of little yellow squares called ambrosia and a canteen of nectar from one of the Apollo kids, and packed up the little clothes he had. He strapped his sheathed blades to his back, slung his pack over his shoulder, and went to meet up with the others at the Big House. When he got there, Jason was already there, leaning up against the railing.

"Hey," Ben said as he stepped on the porch.

"Oh hey, you good to go?"

"Yeah. Got a few free supplies from an Apollo kid and my swords.

"Alrighty."

It wasn't long until Piper and Jacob showed up. Jacob had a nasty black eye.

"Clarisse was really ticked when she found out I was going on this quest." Jacob explained. "She said 'How dare you help him! He made me look weak!' Then she punched me"

"Harsh."

At that moment, Chiron came out of the Big House with the multi-eyed blonde guy. "I trust you four are ready?" They nodded their heads. "Good. Argus will drive you to Central Park. After that, the quest is entirely on you. May the Gods be with you."

It was about lunch time when the Argus dropped them off at Central Park. The four demigods decided west was their best guess. But they decided to stop at a café in Manhattan. They all ordered cheeseburgers and milkshakes. Jason paid for it with his own money and the ate in silence. Ben kept looking at Alicia's necklace between bites, hoping for a happier color. It was still the same dark orange.

"Don't worry Ben," Piper reassured him. "We'll save her." Ben instantly felt better. There was something in her voice that was soothing.

"Piper," Jason whined. "You were charmspeaking him."

"Oops. I wasn't trying."

Ben looked at Piper. "What's charmspeaking?"

"In a nutshell, I can make people do what I want or make them feel better in an instant." Ben decided to drop the matter and they finished their lunch. They asked their waitress for a map of New York. She got them one and they studied it.

"There's a train line here that can take us to Washington D.C.," Jason pointed out, "and from there we could find out a way to the Rockies."

"Wouldn't it be easier to fly?" Jacob countered.

"No." Ben said. "Percy told me that sons of Poseidon aren't safe in the air."

"But he was perfectly safe whenever the _Argo II _was in the air."

"But we don't have the _Argo._" Piper mentioned. "Leo is rebuilding Festus for his own reason."

"Who's Festus?" Ben asked.

"Not important. Point is, we either go by land or by water."

"Fine," Jacob huffed. "So train to D.C.?"

"Let's party." The four left the café and headed for the bus depot. Once there they purchased four tickets, Ben paying with some drachmas Percy gave him. The ticketer gave them a nod and slid the drachmas in his pocket. He pointed them to a farther platform. "That'll take you to Chicago."

They boarded the train and were led to the first class coach. Couches were lined along the wall, a mini fridge packed with soda, and a hot tub.

"Ten drachmas says this is a trap," Jacob muttered under his breath.

"No," Jason said in amazement. "I think Mercury-Hermes-is aiding us on our quest." He sat down on a couch and Piper sat down next to him. Ben relaxed on the opposite couch.

"Wake me up when something important happens," Ben stated, then drifted off to sleep.

Ben found himself in a courtyard with an extravagant castle on one side. Around the other three, a beautiful grass garden with "smaller than a boulder" sized rocks scattered about. He saw a middle aged man, not nearly as old looking as Chiron, and a slightly older version version of the young boy he saw last night. The man was wielding a straight sword and the young boy had a smaller set of the dao swords Ben had. The two swordsman were sparring, the old man obviously being the teacher. The child stayed on an offensive defense, attacking where he can, and blocking the older swordsmans attacks. The dream shifted and he saw two young men, one tanned and the other with a scar over his eye, dueling in a village square, the darker skinned one wielding hooked swords and the scarred guy with the same dao blades Ben has. The two clashed blades across the square, neither conceding.

Ben woke up and saw Jason conked out on the couch opposite of him. Jacob was on the couch next to him, and Piper was wearing a one-piece swimsuit in the hot tub.

"So Sleepyhead Number One wakes up," Piper teased. Ben looked out the car window and saw smoke stacks off in the distance. He asked where they were.

"En route for Detroit for fuel. Conductor said the tanks got low outside of Toledo. You wanna come in? The water's perfect."

"No thanks. I'm gonna explore the train cars." He slung his dao blades over his shoulder and headed for the other cars. He saw families, couples, and businessmen relaxing in their seats. He walked to the later cars and saw some things that made him question the goodness of this train. He saw a lot of creatures in cages, a large dog like the one from the Empire State Building, a fluttering monster that reminded Ben of an old lady, and a really big bronze bull. He heard the door at the end of the car open and he ducked behind a crate. He heard two gruff voices.

"This train idea was brilliant Gashthar," said one voice. "Those demigods have fallen right in to our hands."

"Yes," the other voice, Gashthar, agreed. "Once we get into Detroit, Ma Gasket will reward us greatly." He began chuckling before he abruptly stopped. "Do you smell it, Barthew?"

"Of course. A demigod is in here. The one with ancient royal blood." They began to lumber towards Ben, him unable to get away. He concentrated, looking for water. Nothing. He drew his dao blades and sprang into action. He sliced at one monster's knee and the other in the gut. Both doubled over, bellowing in pain. They were too tall, even when hunched over, for Ben to finish them off. He blasted fire at them, which only angered them even more.

"Foolish demigod," one said. "We are laistrygonians, giants of the north. You can't defeat us."

"Watch me." Ben rolled in between their legs and stabbed both monsters in the knee. The giants fell to their good knee and Ben went to stab them in the chest. The one who boasted at him looked back at Ben, gave him a pained grin, and smacked him against some boxes. His swords clattered away and the monsters stumbled towards him, stopping momentarily each time they took a step. Ben got out of the scattered crates and concentrated his fire powers at them. A blazing white flame shot at the laistrygonians, searing them into a burning gold powder. Ben was exhausted, but he managed to retrieve his swords and made his way back to his friends.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Time to Fly**

"We need to leave, NOW!" Ben demanded as he walked in the first class car. Jason and Jacob jolted awake and Piper jumped out of the hot tub.

"Whaze-What happened?" Jacob asked, still partially asleep. "Who needs to die?"

"Laistrygonians are driving this train. They mentioned something about a Ma Gasket."

Jason scowled. "I remember her. Her sons knocked me out and hung me and Piper over a big pot."

Piper had slipped her shirt and pants over her swimsuit. "Any ideas of how we get off before Detroit?" She looked out the window and whinsed. "Jumping out isn't a good idea. We're going over a canyon and its a long way down."

An idea dawned on Ben. It was stupid, probably suicide, but it was their best option. "Jason, you can fly, can't you?" He nodded and Ben told them the plan.

It took all four of them to open the side door of the car. The wind was blowing strong and everything loose inside was flying around. They were overlooking their jump zone. It was about a one hundred foot drop to the bottom, and Ben couldn't see any water. No changing the plan now. They were gonna have to jump, hover in air with Jason supporting them, wait for the train to pass by, then fly back onto the tracks. Couldn't possibly go wrong, right? Ben was in the front, Piper and Jacob directly behind him, side by side, and Jason rounding out the rear.

"On three," Ben shouted over the wind. "One. Two. Three!" They all jumped out and started to fall. Ben felt a tug on his shirt but as quick as it came, it left and Ben continued to fall. He looked up and saw the others flying after him. Ben didn't think they would be able to catch up to him in time. Ben's vision started going black. _No no no,_ Ben thought. _Need to stay-_

Ben found himself in a castle courtyard, completely different from the one in his last dream. This one seemed to be in the middle of a larger than life castle. The sky was cloudy but he could see a blazing streak of fire through the cover. It had to have been a comet. He saw two people, the scarred guy from the previous dream without his swords and a young woman who looked completely deranged, dueling with fire. The crazy lady was shooting blue fire while the man was blasting red fire. He saw a column of red fire and the woman propelling herself to the side and towards the man with her blue fire. The guy propelled himself away from the woman and a mini chase endured.

Ben's vision went fuzzy and he found himself much closer to the ground. He looked over his shoulder and saw Piper and Jacob reaching for him. Ben tried to grab their hands but couldn't reach them. _What was the point of that dream?_ A column of fire, the two moving around, using fire as propulsion. _What if-?_ He faced his palms to the ground and thought _Lots of fire. Rocket jet fire. _He felt a warm feeling in his hands and his view was covered with fire. His fall slowed until he stopped. He looked around and found he was mere inches the canyon floor. He panicked and the heat from his hands intensified. He started to rise when something landed on him, and he ate charred dirt.

He regained his composure after whatever landed on him got off. He looked and saw Piper, Jason, and Jacob to his side, their clothes and hair windswept from the fall. He looked up at the empty train track. The train had passed by. The ground under him was completely black.

"Ben what was that!" Piper yelled. "You were falling, we tried to catch you and then you shot fire out of your hands and stopped. We tried to stop but we were going too fast."

"I don't know," Ben admitted. "But I think it's our ride out of here." He instructed Jacob to latch on to Ben, almost causing the two to fall over. He looked over at Jason and Piper. "I trust you two know what to do?" Jason nodded as he put his arms around Piper and flew upwards. "Show off," he muttered, then concentrated on fire. Huge streams of fire shot out of his hands and the two started rocketing up. He thought harder and they went faster. They caught up with Jason and Piper.

"Race ya," Ben shouted and the fire streams grew larger and stronger. Ben and Jason were racing up to the tracks while Piper and Jacob were screaming. Jason, being the son of Zeus, beat Ben to the tracks. Then again, he had to stop the jets early so he and Jacob could land on the tracks without torching anything.

"I win," Jason said smugly. Piper was standing next to him, shaken up a bit. Jacob had slid off Ben's back and was sweating.

"Only because you're the son of the sky god," Ben retorted with a smile. He looked at each of the canyon, Detroit in the distance on the far side. "So back track and head west?"

"I don't think we have a choice," Jacob said. "Let's go."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: Truths Revealed**

They walked for what seemed like miles. Jason and Ben had the lead the whole time, Piper and Jacob straggling behind. The lead boys were talking about why they were so far ahead of the other two, Jason being part of the Roman legion, and Ben with his Boy Scout hikes. By sunset, Piper and Jacob were completely exhausted. They set up camp, and sat around Ben's fire. They had no food, no shelter, and nothing to drink, although Ben might have been able to find some underground. They were sitting in silence when Jacob dropped the question everyone was thinking.

"So how does a son of Poseidon have the power to create fire?"

"I couldn't tell you," Ben said. "But I have a feeling I'm going to get an answer soon."

"What makes you say that?" Jason asked, making sparks of lightning cross his fingers.

"I've been having these dreams, well more like flashbacks, about this random guy." He told them about the dreams that were more relevant, the sword duel and fire duel.

"Well," Piper said, "There has to be some kind of connection between you two."

"I don't know." His voice was barely audible. He stood up and drew his blades. "I'm gonna go for a walk. Yell if there's trouble." The others nodded and Ben set off.

He found a large field of tall grass and began practicing his sword strikes, slicing down grass left and right. He was in his own world. He almost didn't notice the three shadowy women. He knew exactly who it was.

"Hecate."

"Yes, child. I promised you we would speak again. You have been having dreams revolving another, is that true?"

"Yeah. Someone who has a thing for the color red."

"Ah, the colors merely reflect his heritage. You see, in another part of the world, separate from us gods, there were four territories. Within those regions, people were capable of an art known as bending. In this land, there were four types of benders, each utilizing one of the four classic elements: water, earth, fire, and air. As it would be, each bending art stood for something, represented a belief, a virtue if you will. You've already discovered one lineage, haven't you?"

"Yes. I'm a son of Poseidon," Ben stated.

"But do you know what it truly means?" the goddess asked coolly. "Perhaps this will shed some light." She touched Ben's forehead and he slipped away from the field.

He found himself along a river in the middle of some woods. He saw two figures, a boy in pale yellow and a girl in blue, manipulating the water and making waves. Then the boy pulled water out of the river, swirled it around himself, and slipped it back in the river. The scene shifted and he saw the girl splash water on the guy with hooked swords that he saw the other night, then freeze the water.

The scene shifted and Ben was back in the field of grass. Hecate looked at Ben as if he should have learned something. "Well child, what is water?"

Ben thought for a moment about what he saw. The water slipping in and out of the river easily, the water freezing on that guy. Everything about the water seemed different, as if it was constantly changing. _Change…_

"Water is change," Ben started. "It's a force that...that is always moving."

Hecate nodded. "Very good, child. But you still have much to learn before you face Scarrus. Now, I shall return you to your friends." Her torch flame engulfed Ben and everything was an orangish red.

The flames cleared and Ben saw Jason and Piper with their swords drawn, Jacob with his fists balled up. Then Ben noticed Jacob had spiked knuckles. Since when did he have those? Especially since he had a huge sword on his back.

"Ben?" Piper piped up. "What happened?"

"Hecate happened." Ben replied. He told them about his meeting with the goddess, his vision and how the classic elements stood for something. When he finished, everyone looked up at the stars.

"That provokes some deep philosophical thinking," Jason ventured. "It really makes you think…" He yawned before he could finish the thought. "I think it's time for some rest."

"You guys rest," Jacob volunteered. "I could use some time to think." Ben nodded and laid down on the soft grass. He was out instantly.

He saw an old man with bandages around his chest and left shoulder and the scarred boy. Around them was a run down village. Probably abandoned. The two were moving in a fluid movement similar to what Ben did to redirect Jason's lightning back at camp. The men were tracing their fingers down their arms, down to their stomachs, back up and jutted out the tracing arms.

"I developed this technique by studying the waterbenders," the old man explained. "If you let the energy in your own body flow, the lightning will follow it. You must create a pathway from your fingertips up your arm to the shoulder, then down into the stomach. The stomach is the source of energy in your body; it is called the sea of chi. From your stomach you direct it up again and out the other arm. The stomach detour is critical; you must not let the lightning pass through your heart, or the damage could be deadly. I hope you never have to use this, but should the time come, you'll be ready." They continued the motion as Ben slipped away.

He found himself at a courtyard in the beach house he saw in his first dream, with the beach in the distance. The boy with the scar had his hair grown out and was doing the same motion he had done with the old man. Except here, there was a young boy in what Ben could only describe as monk clothes, with blue tattoos going down his arms and on his bald head.

"So did you ever have to do this?" The young boy asked.

"Once," replied the other.

"What did it feel like?"

They stopped the motion. "Exhilarating," he replied. "It was like, you had all this energy, but one false move, and it's over." On those words, the scene dissolved.

When Ben woke up, it was sunrise. Ben's "campfire" was a tiny flame. Jason was sitting with his sword at his side, Piper laying in his lap. Jacob was sleeping in the fetal position (which totally wasn't weird at all for a son of Ares). "Morning Shocky," Ben said, trying to be funny. Thankfully, Jason caught the joke.

"Morning, Ben. How'd you sleep?"

"Pretty well. Mind if I share out for a little bit?" Jason gestured a _go right on ahead_ gesture. Ben told him about his dreams last night, where the lightning redirection came from, and what it felt like, but also of the danger. Jason's fascination turned to worry.

"So basically, you could teach us, but if we actually did it, there's a chance we'll be electrocuted?"

"That just about sums it up." He looked around the open field, lost in thought. "So any fast way to the city?" Silence was his answer. "Didn't think so." Piper and Jacob started getting up. All Ben had to say to Jacob was about his bed head. It looked like it was wind blasted so hard it made a flat surface.

"Crud," Jacob muttered as he tried to fix it. He failed miserably. "So how do we get out of here?"

Piper looked around, her expression turning sour. "I don't know. I think we'll have to walk." She huffed as she stood up. "Jason," she started, her voice turning sweet, "Will you carry me?"

He opened his mouth to answer when a high pitch squeal rolled across the field. Everyone unsheathed their weapons and stood shoulder to shoulder.

"Wha-Wha-What was that?" Jacob asked nervously. This war god spawn was surprising Ben more and more on this quest.

"High pitched squealing and monster don't go together as far as I know," Jason said, his voice monotone.

They kept up their guard when Ben noticed a dark shape barrelling at them from the horizon. From what Ben could guess, this thing was big.

"Guys," he called out, "I found our squealer."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: We Become Cowboys… Err, Hog Riders, With Love Issues**

The moment Jason, Jacob, and Piper were looking the same direction Ben was, was the moment the distant shadow was standing in front of them. It was an elephant sized boar. Its tusks were like 17 foot kayaks. It started looking at them as if it wanted the heroes to make a move. Problem, they were standing there like statues. This thing had moved faster than anything Ben had ever seen.

"What is this thing?" Ben asked, barely audible. His blades were still drawn, but he didn't recognize a threat.

"I remember!" Jacob had shouted. "This looks like that sow from the Battle of Manhattan."

"When you guys fought Kronos?" Jason asked. He sounded as if Jacob and the others were doing part of the work. Ben wasn't sure what Jason had done. He was curious as to what Jason had done separate from camp.

"Yeah. Percy said he had to ride on it then he smashed some statues into it. I think we're supposed to ride this one."

It took some time, mostly Jason lifting the others on to the boar before they began riding it. Ben felt its speed instantaneously. The whiplash had knocked him out briefly and when he came to, he saw Chicago rush by them. He never got to see a whole lot of it on family trips to see his cousins, but he wished the boar would slow down. He looked back and saw Jason enjoying the ride, Piper clinging to him, and Jacob clinging to her. He laughed. This felt so natural for him, like the horseback riding at Ranch Rudolf during his troops 50-Miler. He enjoyed every part of the ride.

Time passed and Ben was lost in thought. He was jarred into reality by a high pitch squeal and another whiplash. The boar had stopped dead in its tracks, launching them straight off its back. They landed in a lake, soaking the heroes minus Ben. Perks of being a son of Poseidon. They swam to the shore and Ben was taken aback. He saw _the_ St. Louis Arch. The best he had done to see it was a street view on Google Maps. He looked behind him and saw the lake was in a horseshoe shape. That meant the ribbon of blue spread in front of them was the Mississippi River. He had to think for a moment. _St. Louis...how far? _He guessed they still had three or four states to go. He pulled Alicia's necklace out of his pocket and saw it was a dull grey. He didn't want to know what that meant.

"Hang in there sweetie," He whispered. "I'm coming for you."

Piper put her hand on his shoulder. "We'll save her, Ben. Don't worry."

"Easier said than done," Ben said, the anger he had pushed aside starting to crawl back. "Give me a moment please." He turned and went ankle deep into the small lake they cannonballed into. His anger quickly took over and he roared out in pure anger. He saw the lake explode as a column of fire surrounded him. When his little episode subsided, water was drizzling down and his clothes were steaming. He turned and saw his friends drenched with water.

"Sorry," Ben muttered. "I just… had to let that out." Piper nodded like she understood. Probably a daughter of Aphrodite power, knowing other people's feelings.

"C'mon," he started, starting to feel a lot better. "We have a mountain chain to visit."

They found a bus line that would take them to Lincoln, Nebraska. Ben paid with the emergency money Argus gave him on the ride to Central Park, and they took the back row, Jacob and Jason in the window seats, Ben and Piper on the aisle. Ben pulled out the necklace and stared at it, remembering Alicia's face. He felt a hand on his knee, looked up, and yelped.

Piper had looked so much like Alicia. Her eyes were a mix of blue and green, with a small ring of brown around the pupil. Her hair seemed to change from chocolate brown to a coffee shade of brown. Even the little dot on the left corner of the mouth appeared. Ben shook his head and it was regular Piper.

"Are you okay, Ben?" Piper asked. "Because I can talk to Jason instead if you're gonna scream when I touch you."

He slightly shook his head. "Sorry, I just… was thinking about Alicia. When I looked up and you looked so much like her, I thought…" His voice left him. He couldn't end that sentence without sounding shattered.

"It's going to be okay, Ben. You're not the only one with relationship problems."

"Like Leo and whoever Calypso is?"

Piper nodded. "And when Jason and I officially first met, he had amnesia and my mom created false memories."

"That's rough."

"You guys have no idea what rough is," Jacob mumbled, staring out the window.

"Who was your first, Jacob?" Piper asked.

Jacob took a shaky breath before he spoke. "Elana. Daughter of Apollo. She had a beautiful voice, bright blue eyes, and silky black hair. We started dating a couple months before the Battle of Manhattan. When it came time to face Kronos' armies, Clarisse told the Ares cabin to stay. Naturally, we listened to her. Elana went with everyone else to New York to defend Olympus. After a day or so, Silena tricked us into getting out there to help the camp. When we finally got the chance to recover, I went looking for her at Olympus, where the Apollo healers were tending the wounded. I couldn't find her. After the battle, I found out she was killed by a dracanae. I…" He broke down, burying his face into his hands.

Ben was stunned. He wanted to say something to cheer the guy up, but nothing came to him. He simply patted Jacob's shoulder, trying to comfort the guy.

"I don't want anyone else to go through what I've been through," Jacob said through his hands. "When Percy disappeared, I helped Annabeth almost all the time. I tried to make her feel better, reassuring her. Heck, I lead the private quest to find Camp Jupiter. And now, I'm helping you, Ben." He started to calm himself down.

Ben tried to comprehend all that. Jacob had gone on this quest, not because Clarisse wouldn't, but because he had faced something far worse and didn't want to see it happen again.

"Jacob," Ben started. "You are, hands down, the nicest son of Ares, ever. I mean, going on this quest-"

"Ben," Jacob looked as if he was staring daggers, but his smile reassured Ben otherwise. "Sometimes, you just need to shut up."

Ben smiled amusingly, stifling a laugh. "Fine, hey wake me when we get to Lincoln."

"You got it, dude" Jacob gave him the thumbs up and Ben took a nap.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: Two Caves, One Depressing, One Straight Up Weird**

Ben was back in the cave. There were two bonfires illuminating the cavern, and it was not a pretty sight. For starters, the floor was littered with bones of a lot of different creatures. From what he could tell, someone had tried more than just human sacrifices. Stalactites were hanging down from the ceiling. But the worst parts of the cave were the inhabitants.

Alicia looked as if she were in a living nightmare. Her hair was grey in the light, in a complete, frizzy mess. Her eyes were sullen, dark and weary. She wore a grey, tattered dress that looked like it had belonged to Marie Curie. She was chained by her wrists between two stalactites to the ceiling and hung like a voodoo doll. Ben's heart shattered seeing her like this.

Her jailer wasn't a sight to see either. Out of the shadows for the first time, the manticore was terrifying. Ten feet tall with a beetle-black scorpion tail and a vaguely human upper half, the creature stomped around the cave, glancing impatiently from the tablet to Alicia to the tall bonfires that left a haze in the air. Ben wondered how they vented the cave, although clearly the ventilation system wasn't very good.

The manticore spoke up to Alicia. "Your beloved is taking his time. However, you need to be able to see him for what he is before he gets here."

Alicia recoiled in the air, and looked down, disgusted. "What on earth are you talking about?"

"You really don't know, do you?" the monster sneered. "Well, it's time for you to find out." He lowered her by a pulley system Ben hadn't seen before and she was suspended inches off the ground. Alicia looked the awful creature in the eyes for a moment, and spat in his face. Ben was momentarily proud, but then his heart was wrenched instantly when the manticore slapped her across the face, hard.

The manticore wiped the phlegm from his face. "That ought to teach you about pulling stunts like that. And now it's time for you to learn about what secrets your dearest has been keeping from you." The manticore gently tapped the side of Alicia's already bruising face with his stinger. Although it did not break skin, it sent a shudder through her whole body. Alicia looked up again with seeing eyes, and a whole new level of fear.

"Ahh, that's better," the creature jived. "You see me for what I am. If you called me a monster, you'd be one hundred percent correct. What does that make you think about what the one you hold dear is hiding?"

As the miserable lowlife turned away towards the pulley controls smiling at Alicia's both stunned, angry, disbelieving, and starting to seriously bruise face, Alicia made a rude hand gesture at him. _Dang, she has guts_, Ben thought. The creature snorted then mumbled, "Mortals," and pulled on the system, raising her back up to ceiling level. Ben balled up his fists as the cavern dimmed. Too late, he realized the dream was slipping.

He felt Jacob shaking his shoulder. "Hey, man. We're here. Welcome to Lincoln."

The bus had finally stopped in front of a Wal-Mart supercenter and sped away. Ben looked at his friends, Jason and Piper holding hands, and Jacob twiddling his thumbs. He seemed to have a nervous energy ever since Ben woke up.

"I guess we could stock up on some supplies," Ben suggested. "Wouldn't hurt us any."

"Yeah," Jason agreed. "Never know what we could find at a mortal store." On that note, the four forged on in, expecting the unexpected. Inside, they made their way to the outdoors area of the store, Jason (who also was looking at their brick wall selections) and Piper looking for easy food they could have while camping (Ben had recommended dehydrated food, which tasted better than it sounded) as Ben and Jacob went to the hunting section. The clerk at the guns section waved them over and the two nervously approached him.

"Couple of demigods, eh?" The man said, more of a statement rather than a question. As Ben reached for his dao blades, the clerk laughed. "Oh, don't be so quick to attack." He reached under the counter and pressed a button. The shelves of guns behind him rotated, revealing bows, swords, magic items, and assorted supplies. "Welcome to Balthasar's Demigod Wares. All regular supplies are free, whereas the magic items are gonna cost you some drachmas." Ben and Jacob stared at the selection, unsure of what to choose.

"What are your recommendations?" Ben asked, completely oblivious as to what they needed.

"Hmmmmm…" Balthasar looked at the duo with a curious interest. "Well you, young man," he said, pointing at Jacob, "You're a son of Ares, judging by that huge sword on your back." Jacob nodded. "For you, I suggest stocking up on a couple of these." He pulled up a set of bronze knuckles that looked a lot like Jacob's current pair. "One squeeze of the grip and the knuckles will have an attribute associated with them. Whether it's fire, electricity, or poison, it'll pack quite the punch." Jacob groaned at the pun and pulled three drachmas out of his pocket. "Thank you very much," the clerk said. "As for you," he said, looking at Ben, "I see you have twin dao blades. Very interesting. Two parts of a whole weapon." He looked back at his wares. "I wonder…" He reached for a waterskin and handed it to Ben. It was made out of leather and had two plugs. On one side, ocean wave with three spiral crests breaking over three wavy diagonal lines with a white backing was sewn in. On the other, tulip-shaped flame forked into three tongues that curve outward like flower petals, with a spiral at the base, also with a white backing. "This waterskin holds both water, and oil. I recommend brushing up on your hydrokinetic powers, son of Poseidon."

Ben flinched. "How did you know?"

Balthasar shrugged. "Keen intuition, I suppose. Oh, one more thing." He reached under the counter and pulled out a small wrapped parcel. He unwrapped it and inside was a half-dollar sized coin, with an image of the sun on one side, the moon on the other. "You'll need this. Trust me." He had a gleam in his eye, suggesting he knew our fate.

"Thank you," Jacob said, trying out his new bronze knuckles. Ben slipped the coin into his pocket and nodded appreciatively at the clerk. They started for the checkout lanes to meet up with Jason and Piper.

"Good luck, you two." Ben looked back and saw guns lining the wall.

As Ben and Jacob went to regroup with Jason and Piper, they were stopped by a random employee. She looked normal enough. Bright green eyes, black, frizzy hair, she greeted them politely.

"Did you find everything you were looking for?" Her voice reminded Ben of the rich daddy's girl.

"Yes," Jacob said coldly. "Thank you." The woman didn't leave them alone, though.

"Did you pay for those?" she asked, looking at Ben's dao blades.

"They were a gift." He tensed up, ready to act in case she started acting strange.

"And that water skin at your side?" She started to sound aggressive. Ben saw Jacob reach into his pockets.

"Free from the hunting department. Now if you'll excuse us-" The woman lunged at Ben, knocking him down. He pushed her off with his foot, using the momentum to launch her, sending her into an aisle of saws and axes. He got up as a hatchet whizzed by his head. He looked over at the once was woman, seeing mix and match of monster-pale skin, flaming hair with just as red eyes, and two completely different legs. One was made of bronze while the other was of a goat. She hissed and Ben noticed vampire-like fangs.

"Demon vampire," Jacob muttered, slipping on his new weapons. Ben popped the lid off his waterskin, the water side, and whipped it at the monstrous lady. It smacked her right in between the eyes and she stumbled back, clutching her face. He made a slashing motion and the water followed, slicing of the demon lady's hand off. It crumbled into dust as it fell.

"You'll pay for that!" She screamed, just before another water whip slashed at her neck as Jacob came from the side, popping her head off. Her body went slack and slouched to the floor before dissolving into golden dust. Her head rolled and bumped into Ben's leg before it too turned to dust. He looked over and saw a man looking at them in horror. He ran away, probably to the local police.

"Let's go," Ben shouted. He and Jacob ran for the store entrance looking for Jacob and Piper. Jacob ran out the doors while Ben skidded to a stop. He saw the couple sitting on a bench and waved them over. He saw Jason and Piper's faces scrunch up into a curious look.

"What happened?" Jason asked accusingly.

"Demon vampira," Ben said, looking behind him in case she had reformed. Jason and Piper hastily got up and out the door, Ben following behind them. They saw Jacob hunched over, catching his breath.

"Where do we go?" he asked, looking up at the approaching trio. "The police are bound to show up soon."

Ben scanned the parking lot, searching for a car they could use to get away. His gut grew heavy at the thought. Stealing a car wasn't exactly the best idea, but it was the first one to come to his head. He found a good enough four door black prius. "Come on." He lead his friends to the car, finding it to be unlocked.

"Ok it's unlocked, but how are we gonna get it started?" Jason brought up. Ben looked at him with hopeful eyes. "Oh gods…"


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: A Show, A Nightmare, and A Motel**

Ben had gotten Jason to jolt the car on (with some useful words from Piper) and they climbed in, Jason and Piper in the back, Ben driving, and Jacob at shotgun. As they were cruising through western Lincoln, they kept looking around for any police, hidden or not.

_I am SO not getting my license after this incident,_ Ben thought as they turned onto the highway, heading west. By some stroke of luck, they were speeding down Route 80 on their way to Wyoming. Ben put the cruise control on and realized how nervous he was. His foot was bouncing up and down like crazy. Then again, he was driving a stolen car, he killed an empousa in front of a mortal, and to top it all off, his girlfriend was being held captive. He decided after they drove by North Platte to pull over to the side of the highway and asked Jacob to drive.

"Shouldn't be that hard," he said, sliding into the driver's seat. "I had to drive dad's chariot last week."

"What?" Ben asked, completely bewildered.

"Rite of passage for Ares' kids. When we turn sixteen, dad tests us by letting us drive his flaming chariot."

Ben turned away and made a face that said "Well then." They continued along, the Colorado plains rushing by, lulling Ben to sleep. He realized it too late as his eyes drooped shut.

He saw a large room with multiple black pillars with golden bases, spanning from the glossy black floor to the black tiled roof. He saw an old man, with grey hair and wrinkled skin, sitting in a throne that was raised from the floor and lined with fire. There was a family sitting on the lower floor, the father, mother, and son sitting, while the daughter was standing, shooting spurts of fire out of her hands and feet. She looked as if she was born to do this.

"She is a true prodigy," said a scratchy voice, presumably from the old man. "Just like her grandfather." Ben found himself behind the family as the little girl sat down.

"Beat that," she whispered, goading the boy to try and show her up. It worked.

"I'd like to demonstrate what I've learned." The boy stood and tried replicating what his sister had done. But he couldn't and fell on his butt, more than once. But he didn't stop. He kept going and, in what seemed to be the grand finale, he fell especially hard. The mother ran to his side as he said, "I failed."

"No," she said. "I loved watching. That's just who you are, Zuko. Someone who keeps fighting, even though it's hard." And Ben started to slip away from the scene.

The cave appeared. Ben looked upon a scene that wrenched his heart. Alicia, finally let down from the ceiling, was chained to a chair in front of the manticore's golden seeing-liquid with half her face blackened from the hit that Ben had witnessed earlier. The manticore spoke quietly into her ear.

"It'll show you whatever you want to see. And I know that you know what you want to see.. You want to see him. You want to see if I lie. But more so, you want to see if I speak the truth. You want to see if your lover _is_ a liar."

Alicia's face held turmoil. Ben remembered how Alicia felt when he had lied to her about his grades. She had been angry and disappointed in him for quite a long time, although she did forgive him. He couldn't imagine her finding out that his lineage and even humanity was a lie. Alicia hesitated, her body twisted away from the bowl, but her eyes still fixed upon it.

The foul monster decided that she was taking too long. "Fine. If you won't look for him, I will. I'll show you what he's been doing." He waved his hand over the glistening surface, and it rippled. It started with Ben shooting electricity at Jason, flashed to practicing swordplay with Percy, and fast-forwarded to him stealing the black prius.

Alicia's eyes snapped shut. "No."

"No? You won't accept reality?"

"This can't be reality. Ben? Stealing a car?" Ben inwardly chuckled. Alicia made no comment about what looked like Ben dueling, or firing electricity at someone; Alicia wouldn't believe that Ben would steal a car.

"Here. Let me show you a scene to change your mind." The monster waved his hand over the liquid again, this time with a more-evil-than-usual grin. The scene changed to one that had never happened; Ben kissing Piper.

Alicia's curiosity got the better of her and she cracked open her eyes. With just a glance upon the scene, she turned around and looked the half-scorpion in the eyes. "This isn't real."

The flat denial of the scene seemed to throw the manticore off. "Wh-why do you say that? I mean," his voice grew stronger, back to its normal boasting tone, "I mean, why wouldn't that be real? Don't you believe your own eyes?"

Alicia retorted angrily, "I know that scene isn't real, because it's a scene I've already seen! That girl in the image is me edited to look like someone else. Look." She glanced back at the scene. "That's my mom's prius. It has a poster for a cross country meet out the window. I recognize that scene. You. Are. A. LIAR!" The last word was said with such a force that the manticore took a step back.

_If it weren't for the chains_, Ben thought, _Alicia'd have killed him for me._ Ben was impressed with Alicia. Even he hadn't recognized the scene until she had pointed it out.

Alicia closed her eyes and looked like she was concentrating. Ben saw the false scene of he and Piper ripple and vanish, then reappear with Ben sleeping in the front seat of a black prius, Jason and Piper holding hands in the back, and Jacob driving. They passed a "Welcome to Wyoming!" sign. Alicia smiled, then frowned, glancing at the inscription. She frowned harder, and glanced at Scarrus the manticore. Ben wondered if it was even possible for a mortal to control the liquid, and wondered if Alicia had just wondered that too.

Alicia looked disdainfully at the bowl, like she would have knocked it over if her hands and feet weren't chained. Eventually she closed her eyes and relaxed into the chair she was bound to, and her breathing evened out. Ben had seen her fake sleep to get away with something, but he couldn't tell if she was faking now. Then again, it must have been rather hard to sleep while hanging by wrists. The cave started to fizzle out, and Ben's last unconscious thought was of how strong Alicia was.

"Hey," Ben heard Jason's voice as his shoulder was being shaken. "We're stopping in Cheyenne, Wyoming for the night." Ben nodded and stared out the window, the sun setting off in the distance. Ben didn't know how much longer Alicia would be able to hold out. He pulled out her necklace and smiled. It was a navy blue color. He remembered asking her the question of what that color meant on their one year anniversary. She had a faraway look and she said "Oh, I was thinking about you."

Jacob had pulled up in front of a cheap motel and they had gotten a one night room. Their room was decent enough. There were three beds (guess who's sleeping in the same bed), a small table with chairs, a standard bathroom with shower, and a crummy t.v.

"You guys take the beds," Ben said, looking out the window at the pool across the parking lot. "I, uh, have something I need to do." Jacob must have caught his gaze because he suggested Ben get some rest. Ben shook his head. "Trust me, doing it now will help." He left the room and headed for the pool.

He stood at the edge of the pool, stumped as to what he should do. He pulled out the coin and looked at the moon side. "What am I suppose to do?" he wondered aloud. He slipped the coin back in his pocket and jumped in the pool. Naturally, he was completely dry, but being in water helped clear his mind. He sat cross-legged at the bottom and closed his eyes to think.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: Spirits**

When he opened his eyes, he noticed he was standing. _But, wasn't I sitting?_ He looked down and screamed. He saw his body sitting, his-what, spirit?-standing a pale blue. He climbed out of the pool and ran back for the motel room. He phased through the door, which felt like bursting through a paper banner, and found his friends sound asleep.

"Hey guys!" He shouted. "Wake up!" They didn't stir. He went to shake Jacob, to no avail. His hand didn't seem to touch the guy. He stared at his hands. "What's happening?" He ran back outside to get back to his body.

_Wait young hero…_ Ben stopped and looked around. He swore he heard a woman whisper at him. _Look above you, son of the sea…_He obeyed and gasped.

Floating in the moonlight was a woman, glowing a pale white. She looked as if she had pure white hair, floating knee length. She wore a greyish robe that concealed her body minus her hands and a sash around her waist.

"Who-Who are you?" Ben sputtered out. He thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. Was this just a dream?

_I… am Yue, the Moon Spirit. Long ago, the spirit before me, Tui, saved my life when I would not wake up after I was born. Later, when the Fire Nation attacked my home and killed Tui, I gave back the life she had given me. She remained in the physical world with La. I became the Moon Spirit. As such, I am able to help you harness your water manipulation._

Ben stared at her, in both awe and disbelief. This spirit had pretty much told him her backstory, but Ben was stunned. The woman floated down to Ben's level.

"What happened to me?" He asked. "Why can't my friends hear or feel me?"

_You are in the Spirit World,_ she answered. _It is both an ethereal state and a separate world from the mortal. Here, the spirits hold power. Humans who enter are unable to use their abilities. Most mortals are unable to see the spirit world, let alone enter._

"Like regular people and the demigod world," Ben noted.

_Yes and no. While it is true that the two worlds are separate, they exist on the same plane. The Spirit World is completely separate from the mortal one. Now come, I have much to teach you. _She took Ben's hand, which surprised him since he figured spirits were untouchable, and led him to his body. _When you awaken, watch and follow the movements of the moon._ Ben nodded and walked into his body.

His eyes snapped open and he looked down to make sure it worked. His clothes were their regular color. He swam out of the pool and noticed small waves being made. At the edge, he briefly saw the spirit, Yue, move her arms back and forth, as if she was pushing and pulling the water. He mimicked the movement, creating bigger waves than hers. As the night went on, Yue showed Ben various techniques, like a water whip and how to use it in different ways, how to make a protective wall, and water jets and bullets. When the sun started to rise, he heard _Remember, water rises with the moon. Fire rises with the sun._ He turned and saw Jason walk out of the room.

"Morning, Jason." Ben said as Jason came to the pool.

"Hey. How's the pool?" Ben laughed, realizing he hadn't paid attention to the water temperature.

"No clue. You tell me." He raised some water out of the pool and fired it at Jason, soaking his shirt.

"Dude," Jason said flatly. "That's cold." They burst out laughing at the intended joke. "Come on. Let's get the others. Jacob's still asleep, and Piper is getting changed. She went into the bathroom as I left." They got in and packed up the supplies they had. Piper came out in a bright green tank top with denim jacket, hiking shorts, and hiking boots. She looked like she was ready to climb a mountain.

"What's with the mountaineer get-up?" Ben asked.

"I took a look at Katoptris before changing clothes," Piper explained. "Showed me Yellowstone National Park, so I figured I would wear this."

"Well you look great, Pipes" Jason said, ruffling her hair. She blushed.

"Yellowstone?" Jacob wondered. "Does that mean we get to meet Yogi Bear?" His eyes widened. "What if Yogi kidnapped your girlfriend, Ben?"

Ben instantly felt terrible. "If Yogi had her, he wouldn't slap her." He told them his recent dreams, the manticore giving her clear sight and trying to convince her Ben's reality is truth. As he finished his story, he sat on a bed and started crying. He felt Piper sit next to him and give him a sisterly "it'll be better" hug.

"We'll save her, Ben," she said. Her words sounded genuine, as if she already knew Alicia was saved. Ben wiped the tears away and look at Piper gratefully.

"Thanks." He got up and grabbed his swords. He looked at the keys and asked, "Who drives?"


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17: Yellowstone**

Jason volunteered to drive ("Can't be as hard as Auster's venti."), Jacob took shotgun, Ben in the back with Piper talking to him, the whole time Ben swore she was using charmspeak. They cruised up Route 26, watching the Nebraskan plains roll by. It wasn't until three hours later that they finally got to the parking lot of Yellowstone.

"So anyone know where a manticore would hide in Yellowstone?" Jacob asked, surveying the park. Ben looked over at Piper, hoping for an answer. She huffed and pulled out her dagger. She looked at it, her face changing to curiosity.

"Any idea what this is?" She handed the knife to Ben. He saw a mountain standing tall over a forest. He felt like he knew what the name was, but couldn't place a name. He shook his head.

"No idea." Ben handed back the dagger and walked to an info board, hoping for a clue. He scanned over the pointless info anyone with half a brain would know-Old Faithful, first national park, _yada yada yada_. He pulled out a brochure and found a fast facts page. He was scanning it when he saw the best line he could have ever read: Highest Peak: Eagle Peak - 11,372 ft.

_Far from the ground,_ Ben thought. _This HAS to be it. _He grabbed a map and studied it. He noticed the peak was miles from any road and it was close to ten. He turned to his friends and told them his findings.

"Thank the gods for these boots," Piper cried out. Jason looked off into the distance and seemed to be making a mental challenge at the park. Jacob's leg was bouncing sporadically. "Let's go, boys." Piper started walking to the nearest road before Ben stopped her.

"Before you start walking, little Miss Mountain Climber," Ben said, sounding like his step dad. "We should look at the map so we get there faster, and get this done with." Ben traced his finger from Eagle Peak to the parking lot they were at, following the park roads so the trip wasn't difficult. He figured they would get there by sundown. "Let's go."

Thankfully, Ben's route was faster than he had anticipated. He figured they would have to deal with crowds of people on the roads, but they were barren, excluding the demigods. They had gotten to the base of Eagle Peak by noon and started the trek upward. Ben and Jason had the lead, Piper just barely keeping up, and Jacob trudging behind. About three hours in, Jason elected to carry Jacob, which didn't look difficult for him.

"You'd be surprised, the tolerance your body gets for two hundred plus equipment as a legionnaire." Ben looked up at the peak, not doubting Jason. He was too busy thinking about Alicia. He was worried. What if Scarrus had already killed her? Various scenes went through Ben's head as he walked, none of them good.

When the got to the peak, the sun was close to setting. They stood off to the side of the cave entrance, unsure if the manticore could see out or not. Ben figured even if the monster couldn't look out the cave entrance, he'd see them the moment they walked in.

He realized something in his pocket was growing warm. He reached in and pulled out the coin he got in Lincoln. The sun side was glowing while the moon side was blinking. He started turning his wrist, the moon side blinking faster as he turned it to the mountain. He looked around and saw what looked like a door about twenty feet beside the main cave entrance. He walked over and saw a ying and yang style sun and moon. "You're kidding me?" He put the coin against the symbol, sun side into the mountain. The coin sank into the rock, and the rock dissolved, revealing a hole large enough for them to crawl through. "Well that's a thing." He looked in and saw a glow on either side, probably from the fires he saw in his dreams. He motioned his friends over and crawled in. Luckily, the hole lead them behind an outlying rock off to the side of the main entrance. They ducked behind it, praying the manticore didn't see them. Ben peeked over the rock and was hit with a wave of horror.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18: Meet Scarrus**

Ben gazed upon the scene with a sick feeling in his gut. He saw at one end of the cave, the manticore feasting upon what might have once been bear. _He's eating Yogi raw_, Ben thought with a sense of nausea, On the wall of the cave to Ben's left, stood the relic. The relic was a square stone with powerful carvings on it, and it had been placed in an altar where you could see it but the altar's surface was flat. However, it was not the relic Ben gazed upon. He looked at the thing on top of it; the thing his heart desired. Alicia.

Alicia was bound to the altar by chains (where does a manticore get so many chains?) and she was on her back. Her face looked like it was starting to heal, but she had fresh bruises and cuts on her. It was clear that she had not gotten put on that altar without a fight. Ben had to resist the urge to run out to her right then and there.

He couldn't tell if her eyes were open or not from where he was sitting, but he saw her breathing fairly evenly. Either she had fallen asleep, or she was listening for something. Jacob, who was bringing up the rear, bumped his head on the ceiling of the tunnel and cussed.

Ben's heart dropped and he waited for a reaction from Scarrus. Scarrus, however, was too focused on Yogi to notice. But Alicia noticed. Ben saw her flinch and turn her head slightly so her ear was facing their way.

"Alicia," Ben hissed quietly. Alicia nodded her head ever so slightly. "We'll get you safe, don't worry." Alicia visibly relaxed.

Ben dropped back down behind the rock, turned to his friends, and whispered the state of things. "The monster is over in that corner eating." _Although eating is too tame a word,_ Ben thought as he pointed over his shoulder to where the manticore sat. "And Alicia and the relic are on this wall." Ben pointed again. "Alicia's chained to the altar and she's awake even though she's pretending not to be. How should we go about this?"

He thought intensely for a moment. An idea came to him. It was risky, but if it worked right, there wouldn't be anymore harm for Alicia. He turned to Jason.

"Can you manipulate the winds under someone else?" Jason frowned and nodded. "Perfect." Ben told his friends his idea. They looked skeptical, but didn't offer any better ideas. He popped the stopper of the water side of his waterskin off, and guided the water along the cave wall and onto the chains. He imagined the water getting colder and saw it turn to ice. He saw Alicia turn her head to see the ice and seemed to smile. Ben turned to Jason, who nodded in readiness. Ben closed his eyes and concentrated on the ice, making even colder until it shattered.

"What was that?" Ben's heart plummeted straight into his stomach. He put his hand behind him, silently telling Jason to wait. He heard rustling and the brandishing of a weapon. Heavy footsteps shook the cave as the manticore came closer. Ben dared peeking over and saw the Scarrus facing the altar. "Your chains as shattered. What sorcery is this?" He stiffened and turned, much too quickly for a giant beast, and saw Ben.

"So you're this mortal's beloved," he mused. "Once she sees you in combat, I will break her, spilling her blood, and begin the destruction of the gods." He picked Alicia up in one hand, and shook her hard enough to wake her.

Ben couldn't take it anymore. He drew his blade in one hand and jumped over the rock. "Put her down!" He shot a blast of fire at the giant, hitting him in the face. He stumbled back then put Alicia down on the altar.

"If it's a fight you want, boy," he snarled. "Then it's a fight you will have." Ben took a look at the manticore's weapon. The blade was serrated in a tooth-like way. The hilt was a blood red, a hand guard built into it. Ben weighed his options, none of them good. Suddenly, a line from the prophecy crawled into his head. _and User from ground is overcome by fright. _This had to be it. He was terrified. One wrong move and… He shook away the thought.

Ben heard a small clink of chains as Alicia started to move off of the altar. Ben yelled at the monster to try to distract him. It failed miserably. Scarrus merely picked her up by her hair, causing Alicia to scream. Alicia grabbed her own hair and pulled herself up so that it didn't hurt as much, and looked down at Ben with desperation in her eyes.

"I offer you a choice," Scarrus said, holding his sabre close to Alicia's throat. "You die first, or she dies first. Either way, you both die."

_Faced with a choice, Fate's destiny is made, _Ben thought to himself, his face going pale.

"Put her down, Scarrus," Piper's voice cooed from behind the rock. "A mere mortal is below being touched by you. The demigod is not worth fighting. Let them go; it is more honorable."

Moved by Piper's charmspeak, Scarrus started to lower both Alicia and his sabre. Then, one of the bonfires popped especially loudly and snapped Scarrus back to his senses. "I don't know what kind of magic that was, but I don't particularly care either." He threw Alicia to Ben, procuring another scream and a _snap_ as Alicia's leg hit the cave floor at a bad angle. Alicia lay at Ben's feet clutching her broken leg and she looked up at Ben, her eyes full of fear and pain.

"Here, I'll make your choice easier," Scarrus jeered. He aimed his stinger at Alicia's heart and shot a small spike, surely filled with poison. Ben wanted to jump in front of Alicia, but his body reacted faster than his mind. He saw Yue, the moon spirit, shine momentarily above Scarrus, and he felt the molecules of water within the spike of poison. He felt them and knew they were water, simply unlucky enough to be stuck in the same spike as poison, and he guided them away from Alicia, carrying the spike with them.

For a moment, Ben thought everything had gone perfectly. The spike smashed against the wall behind them and Scarrus looked from the wall to Ben with disbelief. Then Alicia moaned.

Ben knelt beside her. "Alicia?" Alicia started hyperventilating, and pointed to a cut on her lower arm. The cut was slowly turning green. A drop of poison must have escaped the spike. Ben made a feral noise at Scarrus and leapt at him, dao blades in both hands.

Ben dueled with the manticore. Locked in combat, Ben felt a breeze on his back and he could tell that Jason was getting Alicia out. He saw Jacob at his side holding his bastard sword and with bronze knuckles on, and heard Piper yelling commands at Scarrus at random, like "Turn around! Look down! Drop your sword!"

Scarrus took a massive swing at Ben, who met it with crossed blades. The impact made Ben slide, but he held his ground. "Piper!" Ben shouted, straining to hold back the manticore's sabre. "Go help Jason." It must have worked, since he didn't hear Piper's voice. He turned his attention back to the manticore, who still had his sabre locked with Ben's blades.

"Pesky demigod." Ben felt a large force at his side, and he went flying. He slammed into a wall and dropped his weapon. His head was throbbing and his eyesight was hazy. He warily stood back up, struggling to stay conscious. He saw Jacob holding his own against the manticore, using that huge sword he was always carrying. Over to the side, Jason and Piper were taking care of Alicia, though he couldn't tell what her condition was.

_Remember, water rises with the moon._ He heard Yue's voice, a mere whisper. He panicked. He didn't have any water. He'd used it shattering Alicia's chains. He looked at his waterskin and saw one side was still closed. _Oil,_ he thought. That was part water, right? He popped off the stopper and brought the oil out in front of him. He remembered the words the mother had spoken in his last dream. _Someone who keeps fighting, even though it's hard._


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19: Fire and Water**

Keeping the oil suspended in the air, Ben picked up his separated dao blades, putting them back together as one. He ignited the oil and headed for Scarrus. The manticore must have noticed the new flame, as he knocked aside Jacob and stood poised at Ben.

"Cute trick, demigod," Scarrus taunted. "I could use another match."

Ben narrowed his eyes, trying to intimidate the monster. "I'm not just a fire user, Scarrus. I am a son of Poseidon. And do you know what happens when opposites-fire and water-collide?"

"You steam up hot air?" Scarrus, for a moment, looked worried.

"No. When opposites collide, a whole new weapon is created. When snow and heat combine, they make icicles. When fire and water combine, you get ME!" Ben lunged at the monster, splashing his fiery liquid at Scarrus' head while slicing at the monster's body. Scarrus could barely keep up. Wounded, the manticore dropped to his knees. Ben looked the manticore dead in the eye.

"Lesson number one," Ben spoke in a menacing voice. "No one hurts my girlfriend." In one fluid motion, he coated his blade in the lit oil and stabbed Scarrus in between the eyes.

Time slowed down. Ben saw the monster disintegrate into the golden dust, but before the tail broke down, it swung wildly. He couldn't react fast enough. He kicked himself backwards, but the spastic tail grazed his eye. Pain shot all cross his face as he collapsed. The feeling was agonizing, so bad, Ben nearly blacked out.

_Not now,_ he thought. _Alicia first, my pain later._ He got up, trying to ignore the pain. With his good eye, he found Alicia, Piper, and Jason. Piper was holding an unconscious Alicia, who had a splint on her leg, whispering what Ben hoped were comforting words into her ear. Jason was wrapping up the cut on her arm, which had now fully turned green. Jason turned his head and nearly fell backwards.

"Oh, gods Ben. Your eye-"

"Yeah, I know," Ben said, his hatred towards Scarrus leaking out. "Is Alicia ok?"

Jason shook his head slowly. "No. Her leg will only take some time, but..." He reached into his pack, pulling out some ambrosia and a flask of nectar. "The poison is really bad. And this stuff burns up mortals."

Ben fell to his knees and felt tears roll down his face. He had come so close, but the stupid manticore poison was in her system now. He felt a gentle breeze on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Yue. If he wasn't feeling so broken, he would've been surprised.

_Ben, though mortal supplies can't fix this, and the ingredients of the gods will burn her soul, there is one way you can save her. _She held out her hand and a small vial appeared. _Inside this vial is water from the Spirit Oasis of my home. It has special healing properties, potent enough to resurrect a person. This is my final gift to you._ She dropped the vial, and it turned solid in his lap. He pulled off the stopper on top and Alicia's bandages, at which Jason protested heavily. Ben willed the water out of the vial and onto her poison-fused cut. For a sickening moment, nothing happened. Then, the water glowed a deep, yet bright blue, and the poison started to seep out of her system.

Ben held her slowly turning from green to blue hand and waited in both fear and hope. The blue spread throughout the green, shone a bright white for a moment, then disappeared. Alicia opened her eyes.

"Ben…" she said weakly. Overjoyed, Ben wrapped her in a bear hug, crying into her shoulder. Alicia gave him a kiss on the cheek and hugged him back gently. Ben pulled back for a moment to look at Alicia, her face back to full color.

"I almost lost you there," Ben said.

"I thought I lost you two months ago. I didn't know if you'd been kidnapped, had run away-"

"I did, but for good reason." He told her everything that happened in the past two months, the monster attacks, arriving at Camp Half-Blood, and his quest (at which point he formally introduced Jason, Piper, and a bruised Jacob). During the whole story, Alicia seemed to go through a gamut of emotions. When he finished, she looked at him in what seemed to be disbelief.

"So.. you're a hero. I mean, you always were a hero, but like, a Hercules hero." Alicia looked at him with a sense of awe. "I'm dating a waterbending, firebending hero."

"Well when you put it like that…" he smiled, his first genuine smile in two months.

"Ben," Jason spoke up, holding a small square of ambrosia. "Eat this now." Ben took the square and it melted in his mouth. It tasted like warm, chewy chocolate chip cookies. He felt a numb sensation on his face, where he had completely forgot about the pain. He couldn't see or feel anything getting healed, but judging by the look on Alicia's face, he looked like Harvey Dent.

"Can I.. touch it?" Alicia asked timidly. Ben nodded and she gingerly reached for where the manticore tail had grazed his face. As she ran her fingers along it, she spoke to Ben. "Thank you for saving me."

"Anything for you."


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20: Back to Base**

After catching up and making sure everyone was stable, they filed out of the cave, Ben supporting Alicia as she hobbled with her broken leg. The moon was low in the sky, still orbiting over the horizon. Ben could hear the pristine sounds of the park, a pleasant change from the commotion earlier that day. He stared off into the distance. _Two and a half months,_ he thought.

"Hey," Alicia said as she leaned heavily on him. "It's uh, it's good to see you."

"It's good to see you too, especially to see you safe," Ben answered.

Alicia nodded and continued. "I suppose that the two months of my normal life don't seem important compared to this stuff, but would you like to hear about it anyways?"

"Let's get back to camp first," he said, turning to the others. "Anyone know how to get back quickly?"

"Well we have a car, but we'll probably get caught with it at this point. Maybe take another?" Jacob suggested. Ben could feel Alicia shift uncomfortably at his side.

"Well, that'll be a last resort. Any other ideas?" Ben said. He knew Alicia didn't like the thought of stealing cars, and quite honestly, neither did he.

"Maybe go back to Balthasar the hunting section clerk?" Jason asked. "See if he has anything to help us?"

"If we do that, we'll have to wait for morning. It doesn't look like we have other options for tonight anyways. Where should we sleep tonight? Leave the stolen car here and hike to a cheap motel?"

"Until we think of a better idea, yeah," Piper chimed in. They started down the mountain, Ben carrying Alicia, as she couldn't walk on her own, and helping her hobble was slower than just carrying her would be. Halfway down the mountain, Alicia fell asleep and Jason took a turn carrying her, as he was more fit for carrying people than Ben. They finally made it to the park road as the sun began to rise. And apparently, park rangers like to take morning runs, as they were found by one not five minutes after reaching the road.

"Kids, what are you doing here so early? You'd better not have been partying," the ranger said suspiciously.

"No, of course not," Piper assured him, a hint of charmspeak in her voice. "We hiked up to Eagle Peak last night and spent the night under the stars, but she," Piper nodded to the sleeping Alicia back in Ben's arms now, "Took a bad fall on our way down.. We think her leg is broken. Can you help us?" Ben wasn't sure how much charmspeak she was using, but it seemed to do the job.

The ranger nodded quickly. "Of course I'll help. You guys look tired. The name's Ranger Jim, by the way." Ranger Jim took Alicia, who had woken up during Piper's dialogue, but was feigning sleep again. "I'll run ahead to get her medical treatment and send a ride back to pick you up."

Piper smiled as he jogged off. "Ahh, mortals. So much easier to get help from," she said. Ben was pretty sure she had almost said "manipulate" but caught herself when she remembered who Ben was dating. He let the thought go. No point in getting angry at poor word choice.

"So Ben," Jacob asked. "Are we taking her to camp with us, or is she going home?"

"She's coming to camp," Ben said, looking at him. "I lost two months of time to spend with her. And after what she went through, she needs me." His voice cracked. "And I need her."

A different park ranger showed up, this one a tall, lanky woman. "Hop in," she said authoritatively. Jacob got shotgun, Jason, Piper, and Ben squeezed into the backseat, Piper in the middle.

"Thank you _so_ much," Piper said expressively.

"Oh that's no problem, sweetie." She sounded flattered that a teenager would say thanks, and Ben was sure Piper had added a bit of charmspeak to really lay on the appreciation. "I'm Ranger Suzie. Ask for me if you get any trouble, okay?"

"Don't worry, we will," Jacob stated. It wasn't clear if he meant that they would ask Ranger Suzie, or get trouble. Ben was leaning towards the trouble, himself.

They got to the ranger's office, situated at the edge of the parking lot. He saw a medical helicopter at the edge of the lot, probably on standby in case Boo Boo went feral. He whispered an idea to Piper, who looked at him strange for a moment, but did as he asked.

"Hey Suzie, could you take us and the girl with the broken leg over to that helicopter?" The ranger nodded and went inside the office. Moments later, Alicia came "walking" out with an impromptu cast over her leg, using crutches to move about. They'd given her a new set of clothes to replace the tattered dress, bermuda shorts and an over-large T-shirt. They got in the fourwheeler, and Alicia sat down on Ben's lap, who proceeded to put his arms around her. Suzie drove the teens over to the copter, and with some charmspeaking from Piper, the helicopter took to the air. (Without Suzie.) The questers all agreed: only a couple hundred feet off the ground. Ben was still in danger in the sky, though he was pretty sure with Jason here, Zeus wouldn't shoot down the aircraft. Ben went to the back of the copter, a whole five feet from the "cockpit," and sat down next to Alicia, who was on the floor for her leg's sake.

"Hey," she said, leaning into Ben.

"Hey." He put his arm around her. "You gonna be okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah. It might take a while, but yeah." She shifted. "Are you sending me home?" Alicia sounded like this would be a punishment.

"No. We missed two months of each others company. I wanna start making that up."

"Thank you."


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21: Catching Up**

Ben and Alicia held each other as Jason flew the helicopter. Piper was on the headset, telling airports to not worry about the lone copter full of teenagers. A few hours later, they were landing on the beach with a crowd of camper surrounding the front side. Jason cut the power and Jacob was the first to jump out. Jason was next, catching Piper when she jumped out. Ben helped Alicia off, not as romantically as Jason and Piper had done, but it was just fine given the circumstances.

The campers that had shown up were very persistent, asking for details, who the new girl was, and the big one: "Ben, how did you get that scar?" Chiron trotted over to us and smiled.

"You've returned," he said. He sounded as if he was holding back pure excitement. "And I see you've brought a friend."

"Yeah," He turned to Alicia. "Alicia, this is Chiron, the activities director here. Chiron, this is Alicia, my girlfriend." Alicia looked awestruck.

"You-You have-" She started.

"A horse's rear end," Chiron finished. He turned his head towards Ben. "So I take it she will be staying for some time?"

"For the time being, yes," He answered.

"Very well. We will make arrangements for her bedding. Maybe share a cave with Rachel."

"Excuse me?" Alicia asked accusingly.

"Don't worry, dear," Chiron reassured. "It's much nicer than what you imagine. It's quite cozy, really."

Alicia still looked unsure about sleeping in another cave, especially with someone she didn't know, but she nodded, anyways. Ben squeezed her shoulders reassuringly. "This one won't have chains, will it?"

"No, child. Rachel is an artistic young lady, so I doubt there are any chains amongst her easels and sketch pads." The relief on Alicia's face was evident, but Ben could tell that it would take a while for her to fully trust strangers.

Chiron dismissed the crowd, and Jason, Jacob, and Piper took up the job of telling the campers the stories of their quest. Ben walked and Alicia crutched around the camp, talking. Ben told Alicia more about his adventures, both getting to camp and rescuing her. Alicia kept looking at him with a look of awe as he talked.

They started walking by the river in a secluded area. Ben stopped Alicia and faced her. "Alicia, I want you to know something."

Alicia looked nervous. "Yes..?"

"I love you."

Alicia blushed scarlet. "I love you too." Ben gave her a kiss and they kept walking, Alicia telling her tales. Over the last two and a half months, Ashley had her first kiss, Chase and Emma broke up and Emma and Kylie became ex-best friends, Heather's dad passed away, and her school's softball team-Alicia played shortstop- won the state finals. They stopped off in front of Cabin Three.

"Alicia," he said, opening the door. "Welcome to-"

"Brother!" He heard. Confused, he turned around and faster than he could react, he was captured in a massive bear hug. He heard a scream that might have been Alicia's. He couldn't see anything, but whatever it was smelled like a forge, and he knew from first-hand experience. He tried wiggling out of the hug to no avail.

"Tyson," he heard Percy's voice yell, with a hint of amusement. "Let him go before you crush him." He felt the grip around him release and he saw who Tyson was. He had an eyeball in the center of his baby-like face, which was brown like his messy hair. He was built like a football player, tall and with broad shoulders.

"So, you're Tyson…" Ben said, nervous for whether or not the big guy will hug him again. Thankfully he nodded and turned to look at Alicia. "She's not your sister," Ben said quickly. He glanced at Alicia, who looked a little pale.

"Sorry about Tyson," Percy said as he walked out of the cabin. "He's a hugger." He turned to Tyson. "Why don't you go help Leo with his project?"

Tyson's face lit up. "Yes. Festus needs work." He bounded off to probably the forges. Percy motioned for them to come in. The cabin still had the salty sea air he'd grown to love. Alicia seemed to like it, as she took a deep breath and smiled.

"Welcome to Cabin Three," Ben announced. He sat down on his bunk and Alicia sat down next to him. "Alicia, Percy, my half-brother. Percy, Alicia, my girlfriend." They shook hands and Percy sat down on his bunk.

"So how was the quest?" Percy asked.

"Trying," Ben answered. "Both on my sanity and emotions."

"I know that feeling." Percy looked down at the floor, crestfallen for a moment. He looked back up at Ben. "So, how did you-"

"Get the scar?" Ben finished. "The manticore in the cave, Scarrus, got the last laugh. As he was disintegrating, his tail was flailing and," he traced the scar.

"Manticore poison. That stuff hurts."

"Yeah," Alicia chimed in. "Almost killed me."

"But," Percy looked baffled, "Manticore poison doesn't kill. I took some about three years ago, but-"

"Percy," Ben said in his explanation voice, "We're demigods, she's mortal." Percy clasped his hand over his eyes and muttered something under his breath.

That's when the conch for dinner was blown.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22: One Last Night**

Ben didn't realize how hungry he was until he got his barbeque brisket. He wolfed down about five slices before his hunger was satisfied. He looked over at the head table, where Alicia was sitting. She was sitting next to the red haired girl, talking like they were best friends.

As dinner dwindled to idle conversations, Ben saw Annabeth and Leo walk off to the woods behind Percy's back. Leo saw Ben looking and held his finger to his lips in the universal "shhh" motion. Ben returned his gaze to Percy and his attention to their conversation.

Percy didn't notice Ben's temporary attention shift; he was telling a story about Annabeth. Shortly, Annabeth came up from behind Percy and set a blue-frosted cake in front of him. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and said, "Happy birthday, Seaweed Brain." She handed him a kitchen knife and stepped back.

Ben felt a little badly. He'd had no clue that it was his half-brother's birthday. _I'll have to get him something later_, he thought. Ben could see Leo standing a ways back, a mischievous grin on his face. He looked back at the cake, suddenly wary. He noticed Annabeth standing about five feet away, which was rather unusual. He thought about how he could back away from the cake without Percy noticing, but it was too late.

The instant Percy cut into the cake, the blue frosting exploded everywhere. Percy and Ben were instantly coated with the blue goo. Annabeth, Leo, and even Alicia at the head table were laughing. Ben wiped his face and laughed when he saw Percy eating the frosting. "Wha-? Iths goo- fosthing," Percy said when Ben started laughing.

Ben tried a lick. It was tasty. He looked at the "cake." The cake had transformed into a cake sized moving picture, showing bits and pieces of what Ben supposed were Percy's adventures. It wasn't a screen; it honestly looked like frosting. He saw Percy fighting some bulky dude in a bikers outfit, him getting turned into a hamster (he really wanted to know how and why), and Percy riding a pegasus.

Ben stood up and patted Percy on the back. "You enjoy that cake, bro." He grabbed the icing that was just on his face and walked over to Alicia. She was still smiling at the scene. "So that's funny, eh?"

She nodded. "He seems to really like blue frosting."

"And I think you do too."

She gave him a confused look. Ben smiled devilishly and smeared the icing into her face. She wiped it off and threw it back at Ben. "You're a butt," she pouted.

"Love you too chica."

Percy yelled to them from the Poseidon table, his face mostly clean. "Hey guys, Let's go to the campfire! They're handing out beads tonight," he called. Ben and Alicia joined them, Percy put his cake-picture in Cabin Three, and they headed over to the campfire. Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Leo, Clarisse, and a bunch of other campers Ben didn't recognize stood around the bonfire, which glowed a brilliantly blazing range of colors, varying from bright oranges and yellows to mellow greens and blues, all of them cheerful. Chiron stepped forward and clopped his hoof on the ground, getting everyone's attention.

"And so another year comes to a close. And a very...interesting one at that." He sounded as if 'interesting' was a poor descriptor.

"Yeah," Leo said sarcastically. "Because a massive quest to Greece to fight giants is classified as _interesting._"

"And trudging through Tartarus," Percy added.

"Yes," Chiron continued. "We had the giant war, making amends with the Roman camp, and the rescue of the Athena Parthenos."

"And the fact we know that Percy has a brother who's probably stronger than him," Jason said.

Chiron nodded. "So, this year's beads…" Annabeth stepped forward.

"We modeled the bead this year to resemble a coin, a drachma on one side, denarius on the other. On the drachma side, embroidered around the edge is SPQR and ΑΘΕ, with crossed olive branches, Praetor Reyna and Nico di Angelo holding one each, and Gleeson Hedge standing under them." Leo snickered at that detail. "On the denarius side, it depicts the seven heroes of the quest, striking down the giants, with the closed Doors of Death in the background." Chiron handed each of the campers on the ground a small box, who in turn came up to the stands to pass out whatever was in the boxes-most likely the beads. Percy came up to Ben with his box. Ben looked inside and saw a bead already attached to a leather cord. He grabbed that one and asked Alicia to turn her back to him. She did so and Ben tied it around her neck.

Percy smiled. "That was meant for you, Ben. But, it does look nicer on her."

Alicia blushed. "Thank you." She gave Ben a kiss on the cheek.

The stands began dwindling to idle conversations, when Ben saw Leo walk to center stage. His hands caught fire, and (hold on to your butts) he started singing "Girl On Fire." Surprisingly, he was a good singer. But, this must have been a regular occurrence, since Piper shouted, "Leo Valdez, stop that! You are not Katniss Everdeen OR Alicia Keys!" He didn't listen. He got to the chorus and his whole body caught on fire.

"Come on," Percy whispered, nudging Ben. "Leo needs to cool down." They snuck away to the river that ran through camp, getting a basketball sized orb of water each. By the time the got back, Leo was on the last chorus.

"This girl is on fire!" he sang.

"Not anymore," Ben and Percy said simultaneously, throwing their water orbs at Leo, dousing his fire. The whole camp cried out and applauded. Leo, recovering from his initial shock, had a crooked smile on his face. Even Chiron looked amused.

"That was quite the show, boys," Chiron said, holding back his laughter. "Now, off to bed, all of you. Those of you who won't stay year-round must be ready to leave in the morning."


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23: A Magical Conversation**

Percy put his arm around Ben and gave him a brotherly noogie. "You gonna stay at camp?"

"As much as I would," he said staring into the stars, "I need to go home. School's too important and, well, my siblings need someone there to get them by."

"Good answer," he heard behind him. He turned and saw Alicia, leaning on crutches under one arm, the other hand on her hip, and with a smug look on her face. "And you're taking me home too, right?"

"Of course I am," he answered. "I just don't know how yet."

Alicia's face took a darker expression. "Ben.. Your parents.. They're a wreck, let's just say. They're either viciously bickering or silent towards each other; there is no in-between. Your siblings are caught in the crossfire and blame themselves. They aren't sure of why you left, but they came up with three options: you ran away, you were kidnapped, or there was a freak accident." Alicia took a deep breath. "They questioned me thoroughly, to say the least, but I was as in the dark as they were. I can't imagine what my parents are thinking right now, but if it's anything like what your parents were like..." She trailed off moodily.

"Alicia…" Ben came close and wrapped her in a hug. "We'll go home. Count on it."

Alicia nodded, and then looked up at him. "What are we going to tell them?"

Percy, who had been standing there quietly, made a suggestion. "You could use the Mist," he said.

"What mist?" Alicia asked.

"The Mist," Percy began explaining, "is a supernatural force that keeps most mortals from seeing our reality. It tweaks what we see and makes it something believable for mortal. For example, you," he turned to Alicia, "can see the camp for what it is, whereas other mortals might see an empty valley."

"Sounds like Hollywood magic," Ben noted.

"Um, sure. But this Mist is controlled by Hecate."

"Of course," said a voice. "Who else other than the goddess of magic?" The trio looked for the source, to no avail. "Try your pocket, boy." Ben looked down and saw the corner of a card jutting out of his pocket. Confused and curious, he pulled out the card, revealing what reminded him of a standard trading card. It had some writing on the lower half, probably its attacks, but Ben's attention was on the picture, showing three women, one facing to the left, one to the right, and the third facing forward. They all shared a stern face.

"Since when do you play Mythomagic?" Percy asked.

"Um, I don't," Ben replied studying the card. "Hecate?"

"Yes," the card answered, her voice sounded of irritation. "Did I not just make myself known with my title?"

"As a card," Ben noted.

"Better I limit my presence. The other campers won't notice me."

"So they'll see me talking to a Pokémon card?"

"Not the point. The point is, you must know how to manipulate the Mist."

"What about me?" Percy yelled out.

"You're powerful enough as it is, Perseus." Ben figured that was the worst name she could have called him, as Percy shook his head and left, leaving Ben and Alicia to talk to a playing card. "Now, Ben," she continued, "Magic is a powerful force that requires energy to pull off. However, energy can be substituted for merely creating what you're target desires. I recently had a demigod learn this in her fight. When you are ready, I will teach you. But for now, I must leave." The card became inanimate.

"Fire, water, and now magic," Ben listed off. "I'm kinda scary."

Alicia gave him an incredulous, slightly frightened look. "Ya think?!" Ben felt like he'd been slapped in the face. He had scared her. Alicia seemed to notice as she instantly looked guilty. "I mean.. I'm sorry. You're not scary.." She trailed off, her words sounding empty and broken. Ben had known since he met her that she couldn't lie worth two pennies, and he could tell that he was indeed, scary. "I'm sorry."

Ben still couldn't shake the thought that he had scared Alicia. His own girlfriend was scared of him. Alicia took his hand, and held it tight. _I'm not even human… _he thought to himself, even though Alicia held on tightly.

"Ben. I need you to listen to me." Alicia's eyes, stormy gray at the time, bore into him. He could hardly meet her gaze. It occurred to him why it's called eye _contact_.

"Listen. You are powerful. Extremely powerful. I've seen it, you've seen it. We both get that. To someone who a) didn't know monsters were more than the spawn of a little kid's imagination last week, and b) had thought her boyfriend was either dead or kidnapped for two months, yeah it's unnerving to find out you have superhuman powers. But that does _**not**_ mean that I'm afraid of you. Unnerved by the fact that my thought-to-be-dead boyfriend is half-god? Absolutely. Afraid? No."

Ben felt a wall that he hadn't realized had been put up come down. He had worried much more than he let on that Alicia would reject him if she found out who he truly was. Ben stepped forward, put his hands on her waist, and kissed her. He heard the muffled sound of crutches hitting dead leaves and felt her arms around his neck. As the moment heated up, so did Ben.

He felt Alicia break the kiss to cry out in alarm. He opened his eyes to see if there was a monster, and was starting to draw his dao blade with one hand when he found the source of her alarm. His hands had caught on fire, and the flames had spread all over Alicia's back. But Alicia didn't look as if she was burning up or in pain, and her clothes stayed intact. She looked behind her nervously as the flames climbed onto her shoulders. "Ben? Should I uh, be worried about this?"

Ben was rather fascinated. Was that what he looked like while on fire? He wondered at the fact that it wasn't burning Alicia. The pessimist in Ben's brain asked what would he would do if he had burned Alicia, but he quickly shushed the voice.

He scraped some of the flames off her shoulder and held it up to see. "Huh. I think there's a wall of water under this. Actually, yes there is. See it?" He held the flame to Alicia, who nodded.

"So I won't burn to a crisp today?" Alicia asked in a far more cheerful voice.

"Not on my watch." _Fire and water_. The prancing tongues of flame frolicked to Alicia's front, licking her like excited puppies. She giggled as a puppy appeared out of the flames. _Hang on, did I just do that?_ he thought. He closed his eyes and imagined a rose, and sure enough, there one was in the space between them. He thought about water covering the stem, and it happened. The stem looked purple, with the red and blue mixing. He picked the fiery rose out of the air between them, and handed it to Alicia, who took it with one hand, the other still around Ben to keep herself from falling.

"Thank you," she said, and she kissed him once again. The fire burned brightly around the two, and water kept it safe. _Fire and Water_.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24: Fire and Net**

After Ben put out the flames, he and Alicia walked/crutched to the Big House, where Alicia decided to stay for the night. Chiron helped them set up a bed for her to sleep on, using one of the more comfortable couches. They kissed each other goodnight, and Ben headed for his cabin. The air was still, and the stars were shining brightly. The other campers were in their cabins, some still awake. He could hear someone barking orders from what he assumed was Ares' Cabin, and some arguments between a bunch of girls, probably from the Aphrodite cabin. He walked into Cabin Three and found both Tyson and Percy sleeping in their bunks. He crawled into his own and instantly fell asleep.

Ben saw a huge flame, burning within an indent of the wall behind it. Behind Ben, a stone city spread out, reminding him of those Incan cities he had to read about in History class.

_The Eternal Flame,_ said a voice, _was a gift to humankind by the original firebenders, the dragons._ _It stands as a testimony to the beauty and life of fire. One noted that fire is like a heartbeat. Now, gaze into the fire._ Ben looked around for the source of the voice, to no avail. Skeptical, he looked into the fire, and various scenes danced in the fiery tongues, the first one showing the scarred man from his earlier dreams. Every scene, someone different was creating fire in their hands, accidentally igniting or burning something. Hundreds of people Ben didn't recognize passed through, leaving him more and more confused. Then the scenes stopped on one woman. Ben instantly recognized her. It was his own mother. He saw her making small flames dance in her palm with a sad look on her face. She shook her head and put out the flames. He couldn't tell if this was before or after he was born. Lost in his thoughts, the fire grew, engulfing him. He panicked, and all he could see was orange.

He woke up with a start and looked around himself. He was still in Cabin Three, and judging by the fact Percy and Tyson were still sleeping, he figured it was still night. He shook his head and left the cabin. Looking around to make sure no one else was awake, he headed for the beach to think.

He sat down in the sand and stared up into the stars, recognizing the constellations. He heard a horse whinny off in the distance. He looked over his shoulder, assuming it was a pegasus waking up from a horsey nightmare. He heard it again, and then a splash. He looked back out to the water and saw what was perhaps the most majestic creature he had ever seen.

From what was above the water, it had the body of a pure white stallion, proud and mighty. It leapt and Ben could see it had a silver scaled fish body with a rainbow colored tail. Ben stood up and walked towards it, the horse-fish creature stopping close to shore.

_My lord,_ it said in a voice Ben could only describe as noble, _an ichthyocentaur is caught in a net, and he can't escape. Please, help him._

"An itho-what?" Ben said, trying to process how an animal was talking to him.

_An ichthyocentaur-half centaur, half fish. Now, come. Ride on my back. _Ben was still dumbstruck, but he did so. The horse fish sped off, away from the beach, wind whipping in Ben's face. He felt like he was king of the world.

"Oh hey," Ben spoke, "What's your name?"

_That my lord, _the mount replied, _is up to you._

"How does Baron sound? A royal class for a majestic beast." The newly named Baron whinnied in agreement, and Ben smiled. Baron dove, taking Ben with, into the depths of the ocean. Ben saw the deep blue so clearly, it could have been from those resort commercials. He saw schools of fish leisurely swimming about, kelp rippling in the currents. It was like being part of those exotic aquariums.

"Help!" he heard ahead of them. He looked around and saw a hybrid of a centaur and a fish, front half being centaur and the back being fish. He was tinted green, and looked rather young, maybe a few years older than Ben. The fishy centaur was wriggling around in a net, his arms crossed over his chest, and his centaur legs wrapped by the net.

Ben floated off Baron and to the net. He mentally cursed for not having his sword with him. Then again, it was the middle of the night. "Hold on, I'll get you out." He doubted it would work, but it was his only plan. Ben concentrated on a small, white hot flame in his palm. The ichthyocentaur protested.

"Dude, dude, try using my sword first." He awkwardly pointed up and floating there was a swordfish skull. Creepy? Yes, but Ben decided to go with it. He grabbed hold and thought were to cut first. He decided on cutting loose the guy's (could he technically call him that?) arms.

"What's your name?" Ben asked.

"Agro," Agro replied.

"Ben," Ben said back. He slid the "blade" between part of the net and Agro's arm, cutting it like it was paper. After that, it was a matter of slipping the net. In no time, the fish centaur was freed.

"Thanks," Agro said, getting the last bits of net off himself.

"Don't thank me, thank Baron. Without him, you'd still be in that net."

"Right." The ichthyocentaur spun a 180° and began cantering off. "Thanks again."

Ben was stuck dumbfounded. He'd probably just saved the guy's life, and Agro just left like it was no big deal. Ben shook his head, mounted on Baron, and they rode back to camp.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25: Home**

They made it back to camp just as the sun started poking over the horizon. Baron let Ben off near the beach and bowed.

_If you ever need me again, whistle for me._ And with that, he was gone. Ben started walking aimlessly around the camp, waiting on breakfast. He started thinking about Hecate's offer about magic and the dream with the never ending fire. He was walking by the Big House when a friendly voice stopped him.

"Hey." Ben looked over and saw Alicia leaning against the door, holding her crutches loosely. Someone must have left her a change of clothes, since she was wearing a camp shirt and bermuda shorts. She was also wearing the necklace had given her last night, and Ben smiled.

"Hey. Sleep well?" She nodded.

"You?"

"For the most part." He told her his most recent dream and the rescue mission.

She gave it some thought before speaking. "So that explains a lot."

He nodded. "On the bright side, we have a way home."

She smiled. "So when do we leave?"

"After breakfast." As if on cue, the breakfast horn sounded.

Breakfast went by quickly enough, and campers started leaving in twos and threes. Ben asked Percy where he was heading as they were cleaning up the cabin, packing away clothes and grabbing what they'd need for the outside world.

"New York. It's been nearly a year since I saw Mom and Paul." Ben saw Percy slip a pen in his pocket. Probably his favorite pen. "Have you talked to Argus about getting you and Alicia home?"

Ben shook his head. "Don't need to." He told Percy about meeting Baron and helping out Agro. Percy grumbled, saying something about "underwater politics."

"Well, I'm ready. You?"

Ben looked around Cabin Three once more. He was gonna miss this place. "Lets party."

He said his goodbyes to the campers he had gotten to know best: Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, and Jacob. He was pretty sure he was going to come back, just not so soon. He met up with Alicia at the beach, taking a quick inventory check. Swords? Yep. Waterskin? Filled. Alicia was looking into the water, probably thinking about home.

"Ready to go?" He asked. He was ready to go home.

"Yeah. Yeah, let's go." She looked back out at sea.

"Just a moment." He walked into the water until he was completely submerged. Then he whistled a little tune that he'd heard ages ago. It was simple, but oddly reminded him of the sea. In moments, Baron briskly came to Ben and bowed.

_My lord,_ he said, _You called?_

"Indeed," Ben replied. "Ever heard of Traverse City?"

The first time Ben rode a horse, he thought it was pretty cool. Riding a hippocampus up the East Coast, with sea mist spraying all around, wind whipping in his hair; it was the best feeling of his life. Baron was fast, too. Within minutes, they were entering the St. Lawrence River. Ben thought of something as they entered Lake Ontario, _What happens at Niagara Falls?_ Baron had answered that question by leaping over the 167 ft. falls. That was also his answer at every canal they encountered. After that, it was smooth… sailing? _No, not sailing. Riding. _It wasn't long before they came into Grand Traverse Bay. Ben looked around, glad to see that nothing had changed.

_Here we are, my lord,_ Baron said blatantly. _Will there be anything else?_

"You did great, Baron," Ben replied, patting the steed's shoulder. He then helped Alicia down, who couldn't get her goofy yet adorable smile off her face. "I'll call for you again sometime." Baron bowed and dove into the water. Moments later, he was gone.

It took them a while, but they found a way to get home. After finding a kind lady who would lend her phone to them, they called one of Ben's scout friends who had a car. Travis pulled over next to them, and it was clear that he was refraining from spouting questions at them. They got into the back seats, and Travis started driving in the direction to Lake Ann.

Travis pulled into Ben's driveway, and Ben pulled out the Hecate card. The picture of the goddess wasn't moving, and he looked down at the flavor text.

_Nothing good comes without concentration. Focus on a new reality. _He thought for a moment, thinking up possibilities. He looked at his camp shirt and came up with an answer. With a smile on his face, he got out of the car and headed for the front door, dropping the card on the sidewalk. Travis pulled away to take Alicia to her home next door.

He strided in through the door and walked in on a regular scene: his mom in the recliner on her laptop, dad on the couch watching t.v., his younger brother at the table on the family laptop. They all had worn expressions, like they'd aged in his absence. They looked his way as he walked in, his mother being the first to react.

"Ben!" She tossed her laptop onto the couch, and bounded out of the chair. His dad jumped out of the couch, and his brother moved so fast, his earbuds fell out and unplugged from the laptop. In an instant, Ben was surrounded in a family hug. His mom broke out into tears, followed by his dad and brother. Ben teared up, hugging them back best he could.

"Where were you?" His mother sobbed. "You were gone for over two months. We thought you were-"

"It's okay, Mom," he replied. "I'm home. I just ran into a problem."

"What could possibly make you run away for two and a half months?" His father demanded, his voice rising.

"Let's just say I was attacked and didn't want you guys to get involved."

"We could have helped!"

"Dad, I panicked and ran, okay? I just thought "run," and I didn't want my attackers following me home." He focused on the words coming out, trying to make them believable. They bought it.

"Okay, but, where did you go?" His mother asked. "Where could you have gone for two months?"

"A camp of sorts," Ben replied, making his words count. "It's a self defense sort of camp. To learn how to deal with attacks."

"Cool," his brother said, wiping away tears. "Can I go?"

"I don't think they'll let you in. Sorry." His brother looked disappointed but shook it off. "Hey where's Abi?"

"At a friend's house."

"Okay. I'll surprise her."

Ben was settling into bed that night when he got a call. He picked up the receiver. "Hello."

"Heya," said Alicia on the other side.

"Hey, how'd it go with your parents?"

"Better than expected. They were concerned about my leg, but were relieved it once I told them you were with me. You?"

"They were fine. I told them I'd be going back every summer."

"Cool. Well, I should go. Riding a horse-fish creature from Long Island Sound to Grand Traverse Bay really takes it out of you."

"Agreed. I'll see ya in the morning. Love you."

"Love you too."

He hung up and stared into his ceiling with a smile. He drifted off into a peaceful sleep.


End file.
